Absolute Lies
by animeloveramy
Summary: 'It had been several months since the incident between Palkium, Palkia and Dialga and a lot had changed in that seemingly small amount of time. What would happen now? Could I keep my secret now palkium had dissapeared? ' Brock/OC sequal to 'Absolute love'
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is the new story, the sequel to Absolute love. If you haven't read that I suggest you do but you obviously don't have to. You might not understand it properly if you don't though. **

**oxo…oxo**

Hey. My name is Samantha Roberts but you can call me Sammy. I have long, snow white hair and emerald green eyes. I'm a pokemon trainer but I'm not of the world of pokemon. I was sucked into my DS by a strange force that I found out was a legendary pokemon called Palkium who gave me a choice between my world and the pokemon world. I chose the pokemon world, leaving my friends and family in my world and joining up with Ash and the gang. After that I had helped save the world from Palkia and Dialga's wrath. Happy day's hu?

It had been several months since the incident between Palkium, Palkia and Dialga. A lot had changed in that seemingly small amount of time. I had gained more badges, now supporting six and Ash was the same. May and drew had both got three ribbons each. They had been in a contest frenzy, on equal footing as they each won as many as they lost.

Shinx had evolved into a Luxio and was becoming quite powerful along with my other pokemon. I know had Absol, Luxio, Roselia, Medicham, Eevee and a Ponyta. Eevee had been a gift from an Eevee trainer we had helped when team rocket had tried to steal all her Eevee's. She had been _very_ generous, giving each of us, including max, our own Eevee. Sometimes I think our group owes allot to team rocket. I mean, they always seem to get given things when team rocket fails. I made a mental note that next time I saw them I would thank them before blasting them off.

I had caught Ponyta fairly recently. She had been wandering around us for a while before I finally decided to catch her. She had taken to the group like a duck to water.

I hadn't seen Palkium since he had left and part of me was worrying about him. The other part of me, however, was telling me to pull myself together. He was a legendary, he would be fine. Worrying about him wouldn't help me anyway, but I missed him loads.

Drew had started travelling with us and after about a month he and May had started going out. I had once seen them holding hands in the back of the contest room when they thought no one was looking. The cute thing about the pair was that they were very conscious of being seen doing romantic things, even though they had made their partnership known. It was so much fun to tease them.

My relationship with Brock was going well. We hadn't really changed other than the occasional hand holding and the increased snuggles by the fire at night. Nothing drastic, nothing soppy. Not like those couples in some Anime's and fan fictions that can't keep their hands off each other after the words 'I love you' are uttered.

We had arrived at a new town called Sora and had started looking for a pokemon centre. The town was fairly small but did own a gym. Ash and I were to battle tomorrow as it was already beginning to get dark. It didn't take us long to find the red roofed building that was the pokemon centre. It did stick out from the green tiled roofed of the houses and made the place seem sort of Christmassy.

Christmas was soon. It was late November and very cold. I wondered if they celebrated Christmas here or if it was just another freezing cold day for the people. I wasn't sure whether or not to ask or if I should wait for them to say something on their own about it. Sighing slightly, I followed Brock through the sliding glass doors of the pokemon centre. I gasped as the warmth of the heaters hit me before letting the air out in relief. It was warm.

Brock chuckled at my contented expression as I followed him like a dog into the lobby, seeping up the warmth that the open fire in the corner brought. As we walked up the counter I eyed Brock, not allowing my worry to show through as we approached a friendly looking nurse Joy. He hadn't asked any other girls to marry him or told them they were beautiful, not even Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, since we had 'gotten together' but I still worried.

"Some rooms for six please?" he asked the pink haired girl at the desk politely. She nodded before tapping the keyboard of her computer raptly. It took her a moment before she looked up and smiled.

"Yes, we have a room for four and a room for two, is that ok?" she asked Brock. He seemed distracted for a moment before I nudged him in the side and he nodded.

"Yes thank you that's perfect." Joy's smile widened and she fished out the keys from a draw under her desk and gave them to Brock, wishing us a good stay as we walked away. I glared at the boy beside me as we made our way over to where Absol, May, Max, Drew and Ash had taken refuge on a sofa near the fire. He raised an eyebrow at me in confusion, causing me to laugh in spite of trying to be mad at him. It was no good; I couldn't do it. Staying mad at Brock is like staying mad at a baby, it's not doable.

"Hey guys? We got rooms?" Ash called to us, waving his hand slightly in the air to get our attention; as if his loud voice wasn't enough.

"Yup. A two and a four." I told him as we arrived. He grinned before jumping up quickly.

"Lets go then!" he cried loudly.

"But Ash…the fire." May moaned. Ash shrugged.

"What about it? There'll be heaters in the room's right?" he asked, looking at me pointedly. I smiled and nodded. He grinned before grabbing one of the keys off Brock and racing down the corridor before anyone had realised what was going on.

"That boy…" I muttered as I watched him disappear round the corner.

"He's going to be in for it." Brock stated simply, amusement written all over his face. We looked over at him in confusion.

"Why?" May asked him. Brock grinned.

"He just took the key for the girl's room." He told us. I looked at him for a moment before looking at May. Our eyes met and we both grinned evilly before chasing after the raven haired boy and his Pikachu. I noticed with a smirk that Absol was not following and called out Roselia. We would have fun this evening.

**oxo…oxo**

**For all of you dirty minded people out there, that last sentence is nothing sexual or wrong. They are simply going to play a prank on him or something. **

**So, this is the first chapter of absolute lies. I decided to keep with the absolute theme and once again I will give prizes to people who can guess why I called the story absolute in the first place. **

**Also, i would like to point out that i made up the town. as far as I know there is not a town called Sora in pokemon.**

**Please reveiw!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two for you! Ok, first I could like to remind you that the towns and gym leaders will not be real towns/cities/gyms/gym leaders from the anime/manga. They will have been created by me and/or modified into someone I know. **

**Second, I thought I might do some quotes at the top of each chapter. So here is the first one!**

'_**The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.'  
**_**Charles Kettering**

**oxo…oxo**

The next morning was great. We had cornered Ash as he had stood in the doorway to the room, frozen. I assume he had realised his mistake when he had noticed there were only two beds rather than the four the boys needed. Of course, the makeup bag had come out and, though Pikachu had tried to shock us, Roselia had used stun spore on him to get him, and Ash, to lie still.

We did not commit cruelty to pokemon by making up Pikachu as well, but Ash really did look like a girl when we had finished with him. We had taken pictures before shoving him through the corridors and into his own room where Brock, Drew and Max were already situated. Throwing the boys a kiss, we returned to our spacey compartment where we continued to laugh for the rest of the evening.

I looked as if they had had trouble with trying to get the makeup off as Ash still had mascara and eyeliner around his eyes only it wasn't complete so it was more obvious and looked stupid. Laughing, I pulled the boy to a sofa where I sat him down and used one of my recently acquired makeup wipes to get the rest of. He was wiggling his nose all the way through breakfast.

"You did quite a good job with the makeup last night. Suited his eyes much better than last time." Drew commented in amusement, his eyes dancing with the joy of Ash being picked on. The raven haired boy frowned as May and I grinned, may kissing her boyfriend on one cheek while I kissed him on the other causing his face to become a tomato. This Ash sniggered at. Brock and max were struggling not to laugh, knowing that if they did they would get some sort of punishment too.

This was the way May and I had operated from about three weeks ago. We were the girls united, the only two of our kind in the gang, and as such we had to stick together. Any boy who came into our room without our permission would be punished, usually by makeup, and any boy who mocked that punishment would also be punished in a way that suited the boy best. Embarrassment was the best way to make sure May's boy Drew behaved.

We didn't inflicted pain though; it wasn't the way we worked, so they never disliked us for it. no slapping or punching unless absolutely necessary like if someone had made a perverted comment or had been just plain rude.

"Are we going to the gym later this morning?" Max asked between mouthfuls of his warm pancakes. Ash nodded enthusiastically, his mouth stuffed full off his own pancakes.

"Yes. Then, if they both win, we're going to move onto the next town for the contest that takes place in a couple of weeks." Brock explained, poking his fork into the last syrup covered pancake that graced his plate.

"Isn't there a special Christmas contest going on in New-over City?" Drew asked, his face still pink but lightening as he sipped at his coffee. My ears pricked up at the word 'Christmas' and my eyes flickered to Brock as he nodded; a wealth of knowledge as usual.

"Yes. There's enough time to get there from Hyden town where the other contest is, if you want to go." The brunette boy replied, his eyes flickering to meet mine for a moment before resting on May and Drew. The pair had stopped moving to think and before we knew it they were razing their mugs from the table and crying "cheers!" to each other. I laughed before picking my mug up and clinking it with theirs too.

"I might join you in that one. Spirit of the season and all." I told them happily. May smiled at me before taking a swig from her mug and chocking as she remembered it was hot.

After breakfast we set out towards the gym. It was a medium sized building with a green roof and red walls. Christmas again. I smiled wryly before walking in after Ash with a sense of weariness. All the gyms I had been in so far had a trick or trap of some sort and I had grown to be weary of what walking through those doors could mean.

But inside was a gym. Just a gym. There was nothing special about it, nothing bad. I was freakier than having a trap and I wondered if that was what the leader was going for.

"Hey there." A voice whispered in my ear, their breath tickling my skin. I shivered slightly before whirling around and tripping over the person's foot, causing me to yelp as I crashed into them and pulled them to the ground.

"Sammy!" Brock cried worriedly as he rushed over to help me up. I smiled at him before helping up the boy who had whispered in my ear.

"Ouch, that _hurt_!" he groaned before locking eyes with me and grinning. His were cyan in colour and very bright, sparkling happily despite his being crushed by me.

"Who are you?" Ash asked curiously, looking at the boy with narrowed eyes.

"The name's Reaper." He told us happily. He was a strange kid, wearing a dark grey night cap that covered his jet black hair. He also wore a black t-shirt with a long-sleeved grey shirt, black jeans and black canvas shoes. His attire was completely at odds with his bubbly personality but somehow, it seemed to fit.

His smile faltered at the confused looks on our faces. "I'm the gym leader." He explained.

"You?" Max asked unbelievingly. Reaper looked at the small boy with no expression on his face, causing Max to take a step backwards.

"Yes me. So who wants a battle? I'll take anyone on." He stated, sounding strangely like Ash as he dared us to battle him. Ash smirked.

"Bring it on pip squeak!" he challenged, seemingly ignoring the fact he was only a centimetre taller than him, if that.

"Um, if it's ok with you boys of course, I'd like to go first." I told them with a smile. They looked at me, Ash looking slightly surprised. I never wanted to go first. Well, no, that wasn't true. I always wanted to go first but Ash was always so pumped so I couldn't stop him; this time _I_ wanted to start. Then, Ash grinned.

"You go for it Sammy! Just make sure to leave a bit of him for me when you're finished." He told me confidently. It was nice to know someone thought I could win. I was never so confident myself though I hadn't lost a battle yet. Of course that was mainly due to Absol.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, here it is; chapter two. I would like to say that, as a prize for guessing why I called the series 'absolute' TheScoundrelCookie has been given a character! Yes, its Reaper! I don't know if this is how she envisioned him but I thought it worked well. I wasn't sure on how she wanted his character so I made him slightly hypocritical to himself you could say. **

**Anyway, the battle will be next chapter and I hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

'_**Let him that would move the world first move himself.'  
**_**Socrates**

**oxo…oxo**

"Well then, let's get this party started!" Reaper cried as he stood on the opposite side of the battle field to me, doing some kind of crazy dance with his arms that made me laugh.

"This will be a three on three pokemon gym battle against gym leader Reaper and Samantha Rodgers. Only the challenger will be able to make substitutions throughout the battle. Choose your pokemon!" the referee stated, putting up her flags as she waited for us to choose pokemon. I smiled at the boy opposite me before motioning to him that he should go first. He grinned knowingly before pulling out a pokeball and throwing it into the air.

"Come on out Rawr!" he cried as the usual red light released his pokemon from its ball. It was a Growlithe. I nodded slowly, admiring the puppy pokemon as I though about who would be best to counter its fire. Then I smiled.

"Medicham!" I called, releasing the pokemon onto the field and thinking about how I could really use a water type pokemon.

"You may begin!" cried the referee, still waving her flags around.

"Rawr! Flame thrower!" Reaper commanded, pointing his finger at my Medicham.

"Grow!" the Growlithe answered before opening its mouth and letting out a massive spiral of flame.

"Dodge and use ice punch Medicham." I told him. He nodded before leaping out of the way, performing a nicely executed back flip in the direction of Growlithe before punching the puppy pokemon in the side. As his fist connected, the ice began to grow until there was a band of it around Growlithe's belly. Then Medicham leapt away and landed back in front of me with his arms crossed; a stoic look on his face.

"Rawr!" Reaper cried as he watched his pokemon look at itself in shock. Then he growled and glared at me. I flinched slightly, not quite used to the expression on a kid. "Overheat!" he cried. I sighed. He was coming at me without thinking about the consequences again.

"Dodge and force palm." I instructed, watching as Medicham did just as I had instructed sending Growlithe flying across the room to where he slammed into the wall, unconscious. Reaper growled, obviously not liking where this was going. Recalling Growlithe, he pulled out another pokeball.

"Come on out Curser!" he yelled as he threw it into the air and released the pokemon inside. It was a Haunter. Original name. I smiled, liking it.

Haunter was a good choice too. He was a ghost type which meant that not only was he effective against fighting types he was good against physics too. This would be tough but I refused to swap pokemon. It would be unfair, especially since he had given his choice such thought.

As I expected, Haunter pummelled Medicham but Absol beat Haunter. Now it was against Absol and Clefable. After several rounds with neither taking any damage, Clefable managed to take out the weakened Absol. I think that Clefable must have been his starter as he seemed more in tune with her than anyone else.

Next, I brought out Luxio and managed to defeat his weakened Clefable without too much damage. It was a good fight and I had put all my effort into it. Looking back at Ash I wondered if he had leaned the importance of observing your opponent before fighting but by the impatient look on his face I didn't hold out much hope. I looked back over at Reaper to see him returning his Clefable to his pokeball with a wane smile on his face.

"Hey reaper!" I called to him and he looked up in surprise. "That was a good battle; you've trained your pokemon well." I told him with a grin, watching his eyes widen with a slight amusement. I figured that whenever anyone older than him beat him, they would scorn him, pointing out the fact that he was just a kid, but the truth was that he was very good. There had been several situations where I had thought he was about to beat me. I owed it to my pokemon that I was even here.

He smiled at me slightly before walking over, a badge in his hand. He gave it to me with a grin. "I think you deserve this more than any other person I've faced." He told me matter-of-fact-ly and I grinned back at him before taking the small gold badge from his hands. Then, he turned to Ash. "This afternoon?" he asked. Ash's face split into a grin and he punched the air happily.

"Hell yes!" he cried out, laughing. I giggled along with him before returning to where they were all sat. It was a very good day already and something told me it was about to get even better.

**oxo…oxo**

**So then, here is chapter 3! What do you think? I want your expressive opingions and your honest opinions (as long as there not flames)**

**Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

'_**If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.'  
**_**H. G. Wells**

**oxo…oxo**

That afternoon, it was Ash's turn and, true to his word, he won his badge too. I felt kind of sorry for Reaper. He was a good kid and a brilliant trainer but getting beaten two times in a row must sting the ego. He looked happy enough but his smiled seemed slightly strained. Poor kid; I liked him.

Nothing particularly exciting happened that evening. We had dinner, chatted for a while curled up by the fire then went to bed. No punishment tonight, much to the relief of the boys. I felt myself grin at the thought as I lay in bed, Absol curled up next to me asleep; his heavy breathing rocking his body and soothing my hand with its touch. I though about what I would do for Christmas. Not only was it my first Christmas with Brock and everyone, it was my first Christmas without my family.

Curling up on the bed I sighed, stroking Absol's silver fur. I missed my family, so much, but I didn't regret the decision I had made. It felt so right, being here with Absol. I could never give it up. As my thoughts became depressing I decided to switch them.

I knew I was going to be entering the Christmas contest, Ash was too, and I knew I had to get everyone a present for Christmas…but what to get? My first thoughts were chocolates, everyone loves chocolates, but then I realised I hadn't actually seen any chocolate around that wasn't just a plain bar. That made me frown. Maybe there would be something in the city I could get? I knew May would force me to go shopping with her and shopping at the moment sounded like a good idea. I could generally find something for a present when out in the shops looking at them.

I wanted to get Brock something special. May as well. I could get Ash a stone for his Eevee…Max would likely want something techy, like a pokenav so he didn't have to keep borrowing May's. And Drew was just Drew meaning I had no idea what to get him. Maybe I should ask May? I groaned quietly into my pillow. This was way to much to think about right now.

"You ok over there?" may asked from her bed across the room. I looked up to see her with her sitting up, her eyes blinking as they adjusted to the minimal amount of light in the room.

"May, what would Drew want for Christmas?" I asked the girl, figuring I might as well ask her now.

"That's what you're worrying about? What to get _Drew _for Christmas?" she asked groggily, her voice scathing. I could feel my face heat up at the implications of what she said.

"Well, I'm worrying about what to get everyone for Christmas but Drew's the one I'm most clueless about." I explained quickly, causing her to raze her eyebrow in the gloom.

"Absol?" the pokemon asked sleepily as he sat up, obviously wondering if it was morning already.

"Sorry Absol. We didn't mean to wake you up." I told him and he grumbled at me before lying back down. May sighed loudly.

"Drew's hard to buy for. I suppose from you he might want something contesty or something." She told me, her voice still thick with sleep. I thought about it for a moment before realising she was right. I grinned.

"Thanks may." I told her happily and she smiled.

"Welcome." She said simply before throwing herself back down onto her bed. Thinking about it, ash already had all the types of pokemon Eevee would evolve into with a stone so that idea was out. I had no idea what to get Brock. May would probably want something contesty like Drew. My idea for Max that had been just speculation was perfect, provided I could find one. Sighing in relief at being given a little piece of mind, I snuggled up into the covers and fell asleep.

The next morning we continued on towards the next contest where we stayed until it was over and drew had won another contest ribbon after beating May. Then we continued on the road to New-over city. Suddenly, it was December and nearing the actual Christmas date. I still hadn't gotten anything for anyone and the time had just flown by. But we had time, or so I kept telling myself.

"What's the matter?" Brock asked me as we walked up the road towards the brightly lit city. It had taken a full day to get from the town we had previously been in and it was beginning to get dark. I looked up at him and smiled, shivering slightly as I wrapped my arms around myself. I made a mental note to buy myself a proper coat when we arrived as this jumper wasn't going to cut it anymore. Chuckling slightly, Brock wound his arms around my waist and pulled me close, warming me up with his body heat.

I snuggled into him, taking his smell into my nose as we continued to walk along. I think I must have sleep walked most of the way because before I knew it we were ordering two rooms from Nurse Joy and I was still snuggled up in brocks arms. Feeling vaguely embarrassed at the stares we were getting at the rather large smile on the pink haired girls face, I blushed scarlet before pushing my face into Brock's chest in order to hide myself. He chuckled again before finishing getting the rooms and walking over to where the others were standing. Absol had been returned to his pokeball due to the amount of people in the building.

"You awake now hu?" Brock asked me softly and I blushed slightly before nodding.

"Was I not?" I asked him back, wondering how I got there if I was asleep.

"Well, your eyes were open but you weren't there." He explained in amusement, a smile on his face.

"The lights are on but no one is home." I murmured quietly. It was something my dad had always said to me when I was dreaming.

"Yes, that would fit perfectly."

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, there has been a time skip. I'm sorry for quickly going through who won without writing the battle/contest but I needed to speed the thing up slightly. And for it, I gave you fluff! **

**Shopping next! Yippee! **

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

'_**Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.'  
**_**Aesop**

**oxo…oxo**

The next day came quickly for May and I. we were going Christmas shopping in pairs, then, in the afternoon, we would meet up and switch pairs so we could buy something for the person we had been paired with first. It was a good system and I was startled when I found out it had been Drew's idea.

"_Drew_ had a good idea about _shopping_?" I asked May when she told me. The girl giggled and nodded, seemingly struggling to believe it herself and finding it amusing that I couldn't.

We were walking down one of the busier streets in the city, crowds of people wandering around, going in and out of shops and staring in windows. I breathed it in happily, the Christmas feeling making the air buzz.

"This is awesome!" I cried happily, laughing slightly as I ran towards a brightly lit shop and pressed my face against the glass. May came up behind me and looked at the bright glass statues lit up by different coloured lights.

"Oh, look at that!" she told me, pointing quickly at one of the statues. It was a beautiful red rose. "How good would that be for Drew if he wasn't so likely to break it?" she asked me. I nodded as I looked at it. It would defiantly be broken if she gave it to Drew…but Petalburg was only a few towns over. Maybe I would be able to hijack Drew and get him to buy it for her, providing he hadn't already.

"Come on then, we need to look at something that's_ not_ breakable." I told her, pulling her away from the shop _I _had rushed to. We spent the next hour browsing before we stumbled across a shop that sold contest equipment. It was a great find. They had some of those pokeball covers they use in the later episodes that make the entrance of a pokemon even showier than before. I browsed them for a while before I found one that used rose petals to show of their pokemon. I asked if I could try it out before placing it on Roselia's pokeball and releasing her. The effects were great as the rose petals and a few full roses fluttered to the ground around her, her landing in her normal flirtatious pose.

"That looks really good." May commented with a smile. I smiled back at her before turning to Roselia. She was watching the flower petals in confusion, obviously wondering what was going on. Grinning, I took the cover off her pokeball and placed it back on the shop counter before picking up one of the packaged ones and buying it. Roselia was then returned and we carried on. The rose cover would be great for Drew.

We carried on and by lunch time I had bought a present for everyone but May and Brock. For Max I had managed to find a pokenav, a blue one with lots of different pokemon painted onto the sides and for Ash I had gotten a book that told you all the moves a pokemon could learn and how to teach them. He wouldn't read all of it, that I knew, but I thought it might help him teach his pokemon. We had also come across a pokemon food shop where I had bought all my pokemon plus Pikachu some treats.

I would defiantly have to steal Drew for the rest of day; partly because I hadn't found Brock a present yet and partly because May hadn't found one for Drew yet. We all met at a small café at the edge of the square and by the time May and I arrived all four of them were already sitting at a table with warm, steamy drinks. We got our own, May a coffee and me a hot chocolate, before joining them at the table.

"So, did you find everything you were looking for?" Brock asked us as we sat. I grinned.

"Nope!" I told him cheerfully, causing him to look at me with a strange expression and shake his head. "Which is why I need to steal Drew for this afternoon; sorry May." I continued, enjoying the surprised look that came onto May and Drew's faces. Brock smiled, seemingly working out that I still hadn't found his present.

"In that case May can come with me and Ash and Max can go as a pair. Ok?" Brock asked; sorting everyone out as he so effectively could. They all nodded and as soon as we had finished our drinks we all set out again into the jungle that was the shopping district.

"Have you gotten anything for May yet?" I asked the green haired boy walking next to me. He nodded, his hands still stuffed in his pockets as we walked.

"Nah, that's why I'm glad that you asked to go with me or I would have had to say no to May and go with Max or Brock." He explained, his voice as arrogant as ever. I smirked before I remembered the glass shop. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along, steering him to the shop as he complained loudly. "What the hell?" he asked me. I giggled slightly before coming to a stop next to the shop window and pointing to the little glass Rose that sat pretty on its stand, illuminated by the lights that still shone on the display.

His eyes widened as he pressed his hands on the glass to get a closer look. Then, his face split into a small smile, not a smirk, a smile. It was an expression I had never really seen on his face before and it made his already handsome features dazzling. Oh how I wish I had a camera; that would make the best present ever for May.

"So, what do you think?" I asked, knowing the answer that was written on his face but asking it anyway.

"I think it's perfect. Thank you." He said in amazement and I praised myself on a job well done. The rest of the afternoon flew by and by the end of it I had bought Brock a cook book, I know I suck at romantic gifts, and May a little Beautifly key ring. That was everyone. Drew had also managed to get the presents he needed so we went back to the café and sat with two mugs of mocha waiting for the others to arrive. I was half finished with my drink when May and Brock arrived and I had just finished when Max and Ash arrived.

"So, we all finished?" Ash asked as he sat down, blowing the top of his hot coffee. I nodded before watching the others around me nod as well. Ash grinned. "Awesome. Now we can start training for the contest." He told us excitedly. May frowned.

"Not today Ash, I'm beat." She replied, leaning back in her chair and sighing to prove her point.

"Ah, no way!" he moaned. I giggled slightly at his attitude before adding to the conversation.

"If you can find someone willing to go and train with you then that's fine but me, I'm leaving it for tomorrow when my feet don't ache." I explained, watching the boy frown. It was true; tomorrow I would start training for the contest. It was only a couple of days away and I still needed to register and come up with some moves. I was debating on whom to use as well; Medicham or Roselia.

But then I leaned back on my chair and grabbed brocks hand under the table. It could wait until tomorrow. For now I would concentrate on finding my way back to the pokemon centre without getting lost or collapsing, a major challenge.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, there's chapter 5! I hope your liking it. Honestly, there **_**will**_** be some pokemon action in the next few chapters; sorry if this is boring you but it needs to be done. Christmas will be set after the contest and something tells me Palkium will be making an appearance soon! Of course not everything will be all fine and dandy, something's going on in her old world that only she and the gang can fix!**

**Oh my gosh, that sounded like some kind of summery…which I suppose it was but that's not really the point. **

**Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

'_**Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.'  
**_**Dale Carnegie**

**oxo…oxo**

"Roselia, use petal dance and magical leaf!" I commanded, watching as the pokemon did as instructed, twirling on the spot to get the attacks to create a tornado around her, the pink petals and the sparkling purple leaves twisting in and out of one another to create a startling effect. As the wind died down and she stopped spinning, the petals and leaves fluttered to the floor around where she stood with a white rose in her hand. She then did a back flip, leaping onto my shoulder and placing the rose in my hair before we both swung our arms out wide for the small applause of the five watching.

"Awesome Sammy! That was great!" May squealed before running up to me and tackling me to the ground. "You'll defiantly get through with that!"

I grinned. It was a few days after the shopping trip and we had all been working hard at what combo's we were going to use in the contest. I had decided to go with Roselia for the pulimanarys because she was the most likely to enjoy it. Drew was also using Roselia but he had made sure to make his display different from mine. May had decided to use Skitty as her pokemon. I'm not really sure what she was going to do with it; she had kept it quite 'hush, hush'. Ash was using Pikachu and volt tackle but Brock and Max weren't participating in the contest but would watch from the crowds.

I couldn't wait till the contest would arrive but we still hadn't signed up for it yet and the closing time was that evening. I pointed the fact out and we decided that now was as good a time as any. So we went to the contest hall, Absol and Roselia following at my heels. Absol and Medicham were going to be the two I used in battles as there would be double battle rounds rather than single. They were both strong and beautiful in their own ways. I had been training with the both of them in ways to get both maximum damage and style out of every move they made; thanks to Drew's special training of course.

We arrived at the hall to find someone I would rather not have met in this world, though I knew it would have to happen at some point. Harley. Oh gods kill me now, I was thinking as I stared at him with his long purple hair, green Cacturn suit and smirking face. I have to physically stop myself from walking back out. I wasn't supposed to know who he was. I heard May groan next to me and pulled a confused look on my face before turning to her.

"What's the matter?" I asked, studying the look of annoyance and tiredness on both her and Drew's faces. The other three looked slightly sheepish and I realised it was because they knew who he was but were finding it amusing that either A, I didn't or B, May and Drew were looking like they were.

"See that man over there with the purple hair? His name is Harley. He's…well I suppose you could say he's a rival of ours." I smirked slightly at her expression. She looked vaguely sick as she watched the purple haired boy turned and walked towards us with a huge grin on his face.

"May honey!" he called and I giggled slightly as I saw her wince. He stopped in front of May with his hands on his hips and the huge grin still on his face. "How have you been? You look well! And I heard you and Drew boy are together! Congrats sweetie! So you signing up for this little contest then hu? Looks like we'll be rivals once again!" he said and I wondered slightly if he was actually breathing as he spoke. "Oh! And who's your new friend? Not someone I've met!" he finished, looking at me with curious eyes that spoke volumes of things I really hoped he wasn't thinking. The thought gave me shivers.

"This is Sammy. She's going to be in the contest too." May told him grudgingly. I forced a smile at Harley and he grinned back.

"It's nice to meet you." I told him politely, causing him to blush slightly and Brock to look at me with a vaguely amused look. This was a side of me they had never seen; the 'nice to the people I don't like' side. I hadn't needed to use it yet as I liked them all and we hadn't come across anyone I didn't like until then.

"Wow, it's nice to meet you too beautiful." He told me with his sarky grin that he obviously thought was a winning smile. I smiled back flakily and as my eyes darted to Brock it was obvious that although he was rather annoyed with Harley, he knew my smile was fake. To anyone who knew what my real smile looked like it was obvious.

"We have to go and sign up now Harley so bye." Drew said dryly, not even trying to be nice before pulling May over to the desk. I grabbed Brock's hand before following them, squeezing it as we walked in an effort to relax him. His hand squeezed back and I smiled up at him, a real smile that made Harley frown slightly as we passed. I assumed Max and Ash followed us as they were next to us when we arrived at the desk. Absol was still growling at the Harley thing as he stood next to me and Roselia, who had been sitting on my shoulder since we arrived an had been a bit miffed that Harley hadn't commented on her, was now laughing slightly at whatever it was Absol was muttering.

After registering we wandered over to a notice board about the contest that the nurse Joy behind the registration desk had told us to go and look at. Apparently there was an important notice on it that we needed to see and sure enough in the middle of the board there was a large sign that read:

_**Attention all contest entries. **_

_**Due to some unfortunate delays we are sorry to say that the scheduled contest will have to be moved until two days after Christmas, the 27**__**th**__** of December. This is because of people complaining that they wanted to watch the contest but are involved in the Christmas festival on Christmas Eve that would have been scheduled for the final of the contest. **_

_**Apologies for any inconvenience, New-over City contest. **_

"What? But I've been practicing…" I groaned, leaning back into Brock and hitting my head rhythmically against his chest but then stopping at Roselia's protesting. "Sorry." I told her, realising that I had been throwing her around all over the place as I swung my head.

"Ro…" she grumbled before jumping from my shoulders and landing on Absol's back. I raised my eyebrow at her before slumping back against Brock.

"Annoying, isn't it?" said a voice from my left. I looked next to me to see a boy with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was smiling wryly at me and had a Gardevoir standing next to him, an unimpressed look on her beautiful face. Suddenly, he grinned. "The name's Romano. I'm a coordinator too. I've been training for this for weeks and missed one of the other contests that were on earlier this week because I didn't think I would be able to make it here in time and refreshed enough to do well." He told me. I blinked slightly before smiling.

"Oh, I'm not a coordinator. This is just for fun really. I'm a trainer." I explained. The Gardevoir looked at me with her still unimpressed eyes before studying my pokemon. She seemed to find nothing of value as her look changed from unimpressed to disbelief. My eyes narrowed as I decided not to like the pokemon but when I focused on Romano he was glaring at his Gardevoir before he sighed and returned her to her pokeball.

"Sorry about that. She always gets like this before a competition. She thinks she's better than any pokemon, even one that beats her." He sighed again before smiling. "But she is an amazing pokemon."

I smiled back at him. "I'm sure she is." I told him happily. "My name's Sammy by the way." I introduced. He nodded his head before looking at Brock. "That's Brock." I explained then introduced the rest of them in turn.

"Oh, I know May and Drew." He said as I came to the couple. "They're all over the coordinator magazines." He explained at their blank expressions.

"Oh, so you're a fan?" May asked happily. Romano shrugged.

"I would have said rival but you two _are_ pretty amazing." He replied, smirking slightly. Drew smirked back and May grinned challengingly. We spent the rest of the day chatting to other coordinators and battling each other. I was kind of relived that Christmas would be before the contest; that would mean that I could give Drew his pokeball cover and he could use it in the contest itself. This would be a fun way to end the year.

**oxo…oxo**

**So, that's chapter 6. Sorry for the wait but it took me a while to write it…anyways, I don't know what those cover things are called so I called them, well, pokeball covers. I hope you are enjoying it and I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

**Please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

'_**Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.'  
**_**William Butler Yeats**

**oxo…oxo**

I woke up on Christmas morning with a buzzing feeling but I didn't know why. That was until I realised it was Christmas and ended up jumping out of my bed, throwing a startled awake Absol to the floor, and tumbling onto May, waking her up with a scream. I was having a giggle fit as she sat there puffing, shocked stiff at my rude awakening. Then she glared at me as I giggled, finally coming round from her shock as she pushed me off her bed and onto the floor where I landed heavily on a very disgruntled Absol.

I rolled over quickly to get off him before apologising and scrambling over to the bag I was keeping the newly wrapped presents in. May watched me with a raised eyebrow as I rummaged around the plastic bag before pulling out her present, looking at it, then placing it back in the bag.

"I think we should go and wake the boys." I told her with a smile. Present giving would be so much more fun if it was done all at once. She grinned evilly before nodding, pushing her covers away from her and jumping from the bed, life renewed at the prospect of waking the boys like I had woken her. Absol trotted behind us as we crept through the halls towards the boy's room. We opened the door quietly to see all three of them still fast asleep.

"You get Brock, I'll take Drew and Absol can tackle Max." May whispered excitedly. We nodded before following her on tiptoes through the room.

"Wake up guys!" I yelled, jumping onto Brock as May followed suit with Drew.

"Ab, Absol!" Absol cried as he literally tackled max, the poor boy screaming as he was propelled to the floor with Absol on top of him. Brock was slightly more dignified with his wake up, his eyes flinging open wide before he sat bolt upright, scanning the room for danger. When he found none, his eyes became normal again and he looked down at where I was lying on his lap with an amused smile on my face. He glared slightly before smiling as he seemingly remembered what day it was.

"Um, guys…" May's voice drifted across the room. I looked at her to see she was straddling a still sleeping Drew. I would have sweat dropped at the scene but instead I decided to laugh.

"Try kissing him." Brock suggested with a smiled. May grinned before complying. The effect was instant. As soon as May's lips had brushed Drew's, his eyes had flung open and he was kissing her back forcefully. May had to pull away with a smile and Drew blinked slightly before his eyes widened as he realised it wasn't a dream. His face was so cute when it was red. Very Christmassy, red face green hair…and I told him so too which only helped to make his face even redder.

"Come on then guys! It's present time!" I exclaimed, grabbing the bag that I had taken with me and rummaging around inside it for everyone's gifts. Then I paused before releasing all my pokemon. The others did the same and soon the room was filled with pokemon and presents. We had all given each other the presents we had gotten for them, creating a little pile for each person. It was an effective method that I used to use with my family. I had bought my family presents as well, but when no one was round. Maybe I would be able to give them to Palkium next time I saw him.

We opened the presents quickly. From May I got one of those pokeball coverers, this one obviously meant for Absol but would work just as well with Roselia. When it opened, the area around would go dark with twinkles like the sky and silver sparkled would surround them. It would make an amazing effect with Absol's fur or Roselia's feminine charm.

From Drew I got new belt that held pokeballs in it. That meant that I didn't need to always carry my bag with me and would be very handy in the contest and in battles. From Max I got a couple of new pokeballs and a bar of chocolate. It wasn't much but it was a nice thought. Max didn't have much money after all and he wanted to buy everyone a present, especially his new Eevee who was sitting next to him as he opened his presents.

From Brock I got…a box. It was a box. An empty box. I stared at it for a moment before I saw something thin and silver go past my eyes and down to my neck. Looking around I saw Brock, looking at me with a smile as he did the necklace up around my neck. I looked at him in astonishment before my hands made their way up to my neck and I pulled my eyes down to look at the pendant. It had an Absol, a Roselia, a Medicham, a Ponyta, a Luxiray and a Vaporeon. I frowned slightly at the last one.

"Thank you; it's so cute! But…why Vaporeon?" I asked him and smiled slightly as he shook his head in a 'you'll find out soon enough' kind of way. I frowned slightly before dropping the necklace back onto my neck and turning back to the last present that sat in my lap. It was from Ash and it was a strange shape, small and slightly rough. When I opened it I realised why Vaporeon. It was a water stone. I stared at it for a full minute before looking at Ash who winked at me. I grinned before calling over my Eevee. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and were watching me in excitement as I gingerly gave the stone to Eevee. She sniffed it tentatively before mewing and placing her paw on the top of it. I gasped slightly as she lit up brightly before her form changed, the light dimmed and a Vaporeon sat in her place.

"Va, Vaporeon!" she cried cutely before knocking me over and licking my face. I laughed loudly as she smothered me before I groaned as Absol, Roselia, Luxio joined in. Ponyta laughed from the sidelines and I could see Medicham sitting on a bedpost, a small smile on his face. After a while I was released and I made a break for it, landing heavily in Brock's lap. I smiled up at him before glomping him, happy about how the day was going. He yelped slightly before laughing as we fell off the bed and onto the floor. The others laughed with us as we sat in a giggle fit on the floor.

Though this was my first Christmas without my family, my great friends had made it better. I would never truly forget it but I would be able to cope. The next obstacle would be harder though. My brother's birthday.

**oxo…oxo**

**I hope you liked this. Craig's birthday won't be for a while. It's going to be in January o February I think but I'm not sure which… also (I'm not sure if I've said this already or not) Palkium should be coming back at some point… not sure when though.**


	8. Chapter 8

'_**If men were angels, no government would be necessary.'  
**_**James Madison**

**oxo…oxo**

_I was in the white place again. As I realised this, my heart began to pound; would I finally be able to see Palkium again? Looking around I saw nothing but white, all around, as far as I could see. _

_Suddenly, a hole appeared in the white, a lot like the one the first time I saw my family and had to make the choice. I walked towards it before peering inside. In it I could see my family, the three of them sat around a Christmas tree in our living room. There was a pile of opened presents by each of their feet and they all had smiles on their faces, even if the seemed slightly strained. My stocking was out and someone had filled it with presents. I frowned painfully. I hoped they hadn't been held back by my death in that world. _

_But then I saw what was in Craig's hands. It was the small little key ring I had bought for him to give him this year. I gasped slightly as he gazed at it in confusion. Mum was opening the present I had wrapped for her and Dad was doing the same. I was astonished. Why were they there? _How_ where they there? It didn't make any sense but I felt myself smiling as I watched them. A smile had come to Craig's face too as he stroked the fluffy little Arcanine on the end of his key ring. I was the only one who knew his favourite pokemon. He hadn't told anyone but me. _

_Palkium wasn't here, but it felt like this was his Christmas present to me. _

**xxx…xxx**

"Welcome to the New-over city Christmas pokemon contest!" the short haired, blue eyed host cried out to the audience who, in response, cheered excitedly; whistling and clapping their appreciation to the contest. She went through a montage of rules and introductions of judges as I sat back and listened backstage, twiddling my thumbs nervously. I looked up in surprise as May took my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. I smiled at her before looking to the screen. It was showing the order in which people would appear. I was second after Romano, the strange boy with the Gardevoir we had spoken to the other day.

He was walking on stage and the overly excited crowd were screaming his praises. He looked slightly nervous but his voice was steady as he called out his pokemon; a Tyrouge that, on instruction, proceeded to do a rock throw and then used an extremely powerful series of punches and kicks to shape the rock pile into a Groundon. All in all it was very well done and coordinated. It wasn't much but it showed off Tyrouge's power to its fullest. He got a 25.5.

Then it was my turn. As I walked onto the stage, clutching Roselia's pokeball in my hand, the ball encased with the cover May had gotten me for Christmas, I listened to what the host had to say about me.

"Give a warm welcome to Samantha Rodgers! She's a pokemon trainer who decided to get into the Christmas spirit by joining this contest! After never being in a contest before and being more used to gym battles, how will she fair?"

Yes, how will she fair? I thought, taking a deep breath in before calling out my pokemon.

"Come on out, Roselia!" I called, spinning my arm into the air before letting go of the ball. It flew high into the air before opening and releasing Roselia in the silver sparkles and twinkling stars. The crowd gasped as they watched but I wasn't done yet. I did the same act with Roselia that I had shown the gang before we had signed up for the contest; petal dance, magical leaf and the back flip with the flower. I think I made a good impression as the crowd went wild as Roselia and I stood their, a little breathless from the adrenalin. I got a 28.9 from the judges before walking back into the backstage room and slumping into a seat.

"Well done Sammy!" May congratulated happily. She didn't need to go on for a while so she sat with me until she did. We watched as Drew and his newly evolved Roserade (Ash had gotten him a shiny stone for Christmas) stunned the judges and gained a 29.5. when May went out a little while later, she also gained a 29.5 and Ash, who was to be last, gained a 27.4 with his Pikachu. Needless to say, we all got through to the next round.

The first round of the contest would take place today but the second and third rounds would be tomorrow. I wasn't sure how many rounds there would be but I hoped to gat as far as possible. It was a few minutes after finding out who had gotten through when we found out who we were against. I was against Harley. Joy. But I was in the second battle. The first was against Romano and a girl with long raven hair and a happy demeanour. Romano won, but only just. Than, it was my turn.

"Go kick his ass." Ash told me with May nodding reverently on the side. Drew was just smirking but I knew he was thinking the same thing. A look of determination came to my face and I nodded, grinning slightly at the thought of beating the purple haired idiot to the ground.

"Well, look who it is!" Harley called as we walked onto the battlefield. I grinned cheekily at him, causing his face to fall slightly before he pulled the smirk back up. There was no more talking and we began; Absol and Medicham on my side and Banette and Ariados on Harley's side. This should be fun.

"Medicham; fire punch! Absol; dark pulse." I called, knowing they would know who to target. I had worked with them enough on move types that they knew what to do. As I predicted, Medicham sprang into a back flip that looked like it was aimed at Banette but actually it was aimed for Ariados before landing behind the bug type and punching it with a fiery fist; knocking the spider onto its back away from Harley.

At the same time, Absol raced forwards towards Ariados before turning swiftly and letting out a powerful looking dark pulse on the ghost type Banette. The attacks were so fast and coordinated, hitting at the exact same time and sending the opposing pokemon in two different directions, that Harley had no time to react and as his points went down he just gawped at me; unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"And the newbie Samantha has just knocked off a huge chunk of Harley's points in one go! That's going to leave a mark!" the presenter commentated as the crowd roared in appreciation. I grinned. It sure would; as my two pokemon were still together and near me, it would be easier for them to work together and with me where as Harley had the problem that his two pokemon were on opposite sides of the field and Ariados was a fair distance from the purple haired boy. He sneered angrily; trying his hardest not to show his annoyance but failing miserably.

"I will not be defeated by a rookie!" he announced loudly before turning to his pokemon. "Banette; thunder on Absol! Ariados; shadow ball on Medicham!" he commanded, watching as his hurt pokemon slowly rose from the ground before springing to action. I shook my head slightly.

"I'm a newbie to contests; but I'm no rookie in battling Harley." I said before making my counter defence. "Absol, dodge the thunder then use iron tail and razor wind to counter shadow ball and Medicham use high jump kick on Banette." I instructed smoothly. The pokemon complied; both using an intricate amount of jumps to dodge the thunder, loosing Harley more points, before carrying out their instructions. Absol used the same trick he had used in my first gym battle against Robert and Medicham snuck up on Banette who, unfortunately for me, used his initiative and jumped away from the high jump kick Medicham had just made, loosing me my first points and injuring Medicham. He winced before springing back to me, riding Absol who had successfully knocked Ariados out.

Harley snarled; obviously not liking his position as he returned his bug pokemon. I smirked slightly, daring him to strike and successfully pulling him into the charge. It was over in a matter of seconds. As soon as he had ordered the will-o-wisp he was done. Absol and Medicham dodged it before Medicham used physic on him and Absol used razor wind; working together to finish the ghost type. I felt kind of sorry for it as it fell to the floor. If it had a different owner it might be stronger but as it was, Harley just wasn't quick enough to call moves or counters against pokemon trained for the battles.

I smiled slightly at the seething boy, not a fake one either. I felt he kind of deserved it but that feeling dissolved quickly as he turned his back and stormed away. I sighed slightly before going back backstage. That had been kind of tiring and it was only going to get harder. But I was glad I had beaten Harley. I would have been so embarrassed if I hadn't.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, there's some action for you! I think the plots coming back again now so if it was starting to bore you, worry not! I am back baby! So back and ready to write! Oh, and some news (not really related but I'm going to tell you anyway)! My friend is going to Uni right? So my mum and dad and their mum and dad decided to do a pass the parcel type thing with things she'll need. My parents bought things like towels, bingo pens, grater ect (thing's she'll need). Her parents? Condoms. What does that say hu? ^_^**

**Anyways, thank you for reading and hope to get the next one out soon! **

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

'_**A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.'  
**_**Elbert Hubbard**

**oxo…oxo**

May and Drew both passed through the first round with no problems what so ever. Of course they did; they were used to this style. Ash got through too but a little less flawlessly. He had been against a fire type and a water type with Glalie and Grovyle. A little bit of bad luck but he managed to pull through.

The day after it was round two time. I was startled when I saw that I was up against Romano and Ash was up against Drew. May was battling a girl with long red hair and green eyes. She looked kind of like a fox. She managed to defeat the girl and then it was my turn.

I had Absol and Medicham out again. We were only allowed to change if the battles were in the same day. If there was enough time in between (like a night) then we had to keep the battling pokemon we had started with. Romano had used Lapras and Gardevoir in his first battle and he got them out again today, both landing on the battlefield with amazing grace. I had the feeling this battle wouldn't be as easy as the one before. Unswayed, I released my two pokemon and watched at they landed calmly on the stage, Absol moving into a crouch as Medicham folded his arms and eyed the Gardevoir opposing him. She flicked her leaf like hair in a very Drew like way before looking away. Then the battle started.

"Lapras, water gun! Gardevoir, magical leaf!" Romano commanded quickly, taking the opening for first attack like I had against Harley. I frowned as I watched Lapras open his mouth and the water that flew from it towards Absol. At the same time Gardevoir's purple magical leaves flew towards Medicham who was watching it with distaste and apprehension.

"Absol, dodge and use dark pulse. Medicham, dodge and used thunderpunch!" I ordered and watched as Absol sprang to the side of the water pulse and sent his dark energy towards a startled looking Gardevoir. On the other side, Medicham had done a back flip (he was rather fond of them) before hitting Lapras with his thunderpunch. Lapras squealed slightly as he was sent backwards across the field.

"Dodge!" Romano yelled desperately at Gardevoir who seemed to come to her senses at his voice and sprang into the air away from the dark pulse. "Good, now use hypnosis!" he cried. The pokemon nodded before her eyes began to glow softly. I gasped as Medicham's eyes began to droop and he fell to the ground asleep. I growled slightly and Romano smirked as he called his next combo. "Gardevoir, dream eater. Lapras, ice shard." I didn't even think before I countered.

"Absol, protect Medicham!" I called desperation clear in my voice. Absol looked at me determinedly.

"Ab." He reassured me before racing over to where Medicham lay, picking up and throwing him on his back before dodging both of the attacks. Romano's points fell at this and I felt myself smile. My smile turned into a grin as Medicham jumped off Absol's back; awake again.

"Medicham." He said as the presenter started rattling on about how amazing Medicham was for waking up so soon and how good the teamwork was. Well, Medicham wasn't complaining. He was looking quite smug at the praise but it seemed to be ticking the now fuming Gardevoir off immensely.

"Lets go! Medicham, psychic. Absol, razor wind!" I called to them, the confidence back in my moves and voice. They nodded and complied; the horn on Absol's head began to glow as Medicham put his hands together and began to glow pink. Romano panicked.

"Gardevoir, psychic too! Lapras, water gun!" he cried, obviously hoping they would cancel each other out. The pokemon's attacks were sent but the amazing thing was all of them hit. None of the pokemon had time to dodge and the attacks hadn't collided with each other. The four were sent flying backwards in a cloud of smoke and it was several seconds before the outcome was clear. Lapras and Medicham had fainted. I cursed slightly before returning him and drawing my eyes to Absol who was slowly getting up. I smiled at him in question and he nodded, standing up straight as he faced the also battered looking Gardevoir.

"Absol." I said quietly. His ear flickered to me but he didn't turn around. Wise. "We only have thirty seconds on the clock and we're just leading in points. Be careful and try to use dark type moves. They're the most effective. Lets start with crunch, if you can get close enough." I told him. He nodded before springing forwards. This caught Romano by surprise. He hadn't heard our conversation so didn't know what attack I had called.

"Dodge Gardevoir!" he called, but Gardevoir didn't know where to dodge. The unknown is a fearful prospect and it is hard to avoid. She didn't know what was coming so didn't know what action to take. In desperation she sprang upwards into the air but it was a mistake. In the air she couldn't move and, for Absol, crunch was easy. Gardevoir was knocked out with just fifteen seconds to spare and I won.

It was a great battle and as I celebrated with Absol, my arms around his neck, I told him so. It made him smile at least before he walked away from me and backstage. Well, on to the next round.

**oxo…oxo**

**So, that's chapter 9! I'm rattling through these aren't I! I hope you like them and:**

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

'_**A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.'  
**_**Elbert Hubbard**

**oxo…oxo**

Drew beat Ash. I suppose there was no real surprise there but Ash didn't seem very happy. The third round was that afternoon and I was paired up with May. Oh dear. This could be tricky, best friend pitted against best friend, but I knew that whoever won we would stay friends. I mean, if we didn't we were never really friends in the first place.

The next battle came quickly and before I knew it I was standing on the battlefield with May grinning at me from the opposing side. I grinned back before calling out my pokemon; Ponyta and Vaporeon. It was the water and fire combo that she herself liked to use and sure enough, out came Blaziken and Squirtle. I guess Blaziken didn't have too much damage from the battle previously. She started quickly, leaving me almost no time to react.

"Blaziken, flame thrower! Squirtle, water gun!" She called and I watched with widening eyes at the speed of which they came at me. Swallowing my fear, I responded.

"Vaporeon, cover Ponyta!" I cried. The little eevolution pokemon understood and she took both blows for Ponyta, the first one that hit being flame thrower before the water gun restored her once more. I love water absorb, I really do.

"Nice one." May praised me before starting again. "Blaziken, fire kick. Squirtle, rapid spin."

The rapid spin hit, sending Vaporeon flying through the air and into Ponyta who managed to avoid the fire kick because of it. Ungracefully though and it lost me points. The problem was, I sort of wanted him to get hit with a fire attack as his ability was flash fire. These two pokemon could make a formidable pair against their own types. Finally, I decided to counter.

"Vaporeon, water pulse. Ponyta, take down!" maybe Blaziken's fiery body would activate Ponyta's ability. Both attacks hit as May had believed I was attacking both her pokemon when actually I was only attacking Blaziken. He was pretty weak after the damage taken but my plan hadn't worked. So I decided to carry on my attack. "Vaporeon, water gun. Ponyta, stomp." I called and this time Ponyta went for Squirtle but it was dodged and Ponyta was attacked by a stunning combination of water gun and rabid spin, knocking him out. I hissed through my teeth in annoyance before watching as Vaporeon's water gun hit but didn't knock Blaziken out. The two pokemon were close now and my eyes widened as I realised my mistake.

"Sky uppercut!"

Crud was all I could think as I watched those claws hit my scared looking Vaporeon; knocking her out. I smiled wryly before returning my pokemon and walking over to where May was celebrating with hers.

"You had so better win this thing or I will never let you hear the end of it." I told her with a smile and she laughed before hugging me. I hugged her back before we went off to the backstage room together.

And May did win. Spectacularly too. She and Drew battled to the best of their and their pokemon's ability's, pulling out all the stops and going for it with all they had. Drew didn't loose by much, not really, but that didn't matter to May as she stood up on the winners podium and received her ribbon. I was really happy for her and proud of the fact that I managed to get third in my first pokemon contest. We celebrated in the pokemon centre afterwards before settling down to sleep. The next morning we left for Petalburg but in the lobby of the pokemon centre before we left we had come across Romano and his Gardevoir. The pokemon had looked at me and Absol with an expressionless look before nodding slightly. I had been surprised but I had gotten over it quickly and nodded back before smiling at Romano and following Brock out the door. Thinking about it, it was probably a great mark of respect Gardevoir had shown us then. She had accepted us, and I was grateful.

The walk to Petalburg was a fairly short one really. It took us the day but we didn't need to stop and camp, which was good because we probably would have frozen, and we were there before nightfall. The sky was orange when we arrived at the gym and the roads were quiet. It felt kind of spooky but nice and peaceful at the same time. It was great.

We entered the house quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone and we found Max and May's parents sitting in front of the TV watching a repeat of the Christmas contest. I was shocked to see myself on the screen. It was my fight against Romano and it wasn't very far in.

"Absol?" Absol asked as he watched himself rescue Medicham and fly into the air. The pair watching the TV turned around in surprise only to smile as they saw their children.

"May, Max! Nice to see you too again!" their dad, Norman if I remember correctly, greeted; lifting himself from his seat and walking over to us. "And Ash, Brock! Nice to see you too! Who are your friends?" he continued, looking at Drew and I curiously.

"This is Drew and this is Sammy." May replied, gesturing to us in turn. Then, looking down shyly, she continued. "Drew's my boyfriend."

There was silence in the room as her dad's smile seemed to freeze in place before her mum decided it might be a good time to intervene (her dad was starting to turn red).

"It's nice to meet you Drew. You're the one I saw with May at a contest that one time?" she asked. Drew smirked.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too." He replied, seemingly slightly relieved as he shook her hand politely.

"And Sammy was it? It's nice to meet you too. We were just watching you on TV! Are you a coordinator too?" she asked chirpily. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, I'm a trainer but I thought it would be fun to try a contest. I did better than I thought I would." I told her and she smiled.

"Oh don't tell us. We haven't watched it yet!" she reprimanded me and I grinned but stayed quiet.

"Ab?" Absol asked, wondering why he was not being included in the introductions.

"Oh, this is Absol!" May told her parents, her usually chipper mood back again. Drew grinned. "Can we stay tonight ma?" the girl asked her mother, obviously not asking for herself but for us. She didn't need permission to stay at her own house.

"Of course you can dear." Her mother, Caroline I think, replied with a smile.

"And in morning Ash is going to want a battle, right?" Norman asked with a grin.

"You bet!" the raven haired boy challenged, holding his fist out in front of him.

"Me too please." I asked with a smile, stopping the two boys in their tracks.

"Of course my dear. You want to go first or second?" he asked, slightly gentler than his tone with Ash but still challenging. I grinned; he was underestimating me, _and_ after seeing my fights. Well he might regret that.

"Oh, second if that's ok. I want to observe your battling style." I told him sweetly, a tone he seemed to find unnerving. He nodded before turning back to the sofa and watching as Absol used crunch on Gardevoir and knocked her out.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, here is chapter 10! Were in double digits folks! How about it? Well, I hope your liking it and, after battling Norman, the real adventure will begin! I just need to figure out what it will be… something to do with Palkium and something to do with Craig. Just Craig; not the parents. I think she had more connection with her brother… he's more likely to understand her decision. After all, he's a pokemon lover too. ^_^**

**Please review! I don't get many reviews and I really like them so, please REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

'_**Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.'  
**_**Lawrence Clark Powell**

**oxo…oxo**

"Absol, ice beam!" I cried as Absol, my last remaining pokemon darted forward with his mouth open, loading up a powerful looking ice beam before shooting it at Slaking where it hit him square in the chest, freezing him solid. "Good, now use razor wind!" I called. Absol complied, the razor wind breaking through the ice and knocking the large pokemon solid. I grinned as the referee put up his flag towards me.

"Slaking is unable to battle, Absol is the victor! The winner is Samantha!" he exclaimed before laughing as Absol knocked me over happily. It had been a while since he had done that at it caught me off guard slightly but I was soon laughing.

"Well done Sammy. Here is the balance badge. I hope you take good care of it." He told me with a smile. I nodded before taking the badge from him; the second badge he had given out today. This morning it had been Ash's turn and now, the afternoon, I had had mine. May and Max had gone out to the garden to play with some of their parents pokemon and Drew had gone with them. Brock was now standing next to me with a smile on his face and Ash was behind him, grinning.

"Thanks." I told Norman with a smile before placing the badge with my others. I turned as we heard a squeal from the garden and, after sharing a look with Brock, I ran outside to see what was happening. What I saw made my eyes widen and my breathing stop. My hands flew to my mouth as I took in the sight of my brother lying unconscious on the floor.

"Who is that?" Ash demanded, crouching down nest to May who was sitting in Drew's lap with a terror filled look on her face, as if she had scurried backwards quickly and not realised he was behind her. If I had been paying them any attention, I would have seen Drew shake his head shakily and Ash frown. But I wasn't. My eyes were still on Craig but I had made no moves towards him. Brock seemed to notice my shock as he walked towards me with a worried frown.

"Sammy?" he asked but I remained silent, not looking at anyone but Craig. How was he here? Why was he here? Was this Palkium's doing? If so, what was he up to?

"He just fell from a dark ball of energy. He almost landed on May." Max was saying. So it was the same as me then? But this time instead of landing in the woods and with a pokemon, he had landed in May's garden and almost squished her. It was becoming too much and as tears filled my eyes at seeing one of the people I never thought I would see again, I decided enough was enough.

Letting out a sob I propelled myself forward before wrapping my arms around the neck of the boy on the floor. Everyone around me was silent as I sobbed into Craig's shoulder. I could hear their confused breathing as they came closer, wondering who he was and why, after saying I loved Brock, I was crying into his shoulder upon seeing him. I gasped slightly as there was a groan from beneath me and I looked up at his face to see his eyes flickering; trying their best to focus on the girl who was crushing him. I sat back on my knees, allowing him a little room to breath and letting him come to his senses.

"Sammy?" he asked, blinking at me in confusion before his eyes widened and he sat up quickly. I bit my lip as he winced, knowing now he would be regretting his quick movement. I pushed his shoulders down, laying him back down onto the floor.

"Yes, it's me. Don't move too quickly, it hurts." I told him with a smile. He smiled back before closing his eyes again tiredly. He was so cute as he lay there I ust had to smile. Then I turned to the others and my smile faded. This would be hard to explain. It would have to include things I had lied about before and I was not looking forward to it. I met their eyes one at a time and most of them were curious and confused but in Brock's eyes there was another emotion; hurt. I winced slightly at the look before standing up. "Can we move him inside?" I asked.

"Sure. Drew? Brock?" May replied before asking the boys to carry him. The pair picked him up before following May through to the living room, her dad following behind.

"So, Sammy; what the hell is going on?" Drew asked as he and Brock laid Craig on one of the large sofas. I winced again before sighing. I really couldn't keep it a secret anymore.

"This is Craig. He's my brother and I never thought I would see him again." I told them and I smiled slightly at the gasps that followed. Brock grabbed my hand and squeezed it, telling me he now understood. I was glad about that.

"Why would you not see him again?" May asked curiously. I smiled at her sadly.

"I suppose really I should start telling the truth hu?" I asked her, causing her to frown in confusion. "You see, I'm not from this world. Truth is that I used to live in a different universe that was a little bit ahead of your time. In my world, pokemon is a TV program, a game. They don't exist in my world other than in the imagination. Of course that means I knew all about you from it. In fact I probably know more about your lives than you do. When you go to Sinnoh, May and Max won't come with you Ash. You'll meet a girl called Dawn and travel with her and Brock instead. Well, you might do; I think I've changed your future just by travelling with you. In my world, you and Drew never get together May. But you do have a lot of supporters. Contest shipping it's called." I watched with a cheeky smile as May and Drew went bright red.

"Wow. Really? You know all this?" Ash asked in amazement. I nodded, my smile fading.

"So why are you here then?" Brock asked quietly. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, Palkium brought me here and left me here fore a bit but that day that I was unconscious, he gave me a choice. I could ether go back to my own world or stay here. I chose here and stayed. Palkium allowed me to say goodbye to my family before I made my new life here, with you guys. It looks like Craig has been given the same choice as me. I don't think mum and dad could live through loosing both of us." I finished sadly. How hard would that be on them? But it was Craig's decision to say or go. I felt Brock squeeze my hand and I smiled at him. He smiled back and I realised I needn't have worried about being accepted by them. We were friends, good enough friends that it wouldn't matter. Looking at the assuring smiles around the room only confirmed that and I felt myself grin.

"Dust crackers…" Craig mumbled softly in his sleep causing us all to look at him before laughing. I couldn't wait for him to wake up. We had so much to talk about and, somehow, I figured it was a good thing he hadn't befriended a pokemon. If he had he probably would find it harder to leave. I wanted him to stay but that would leave mum and dad on there own.

This was going to be a confusing and dramatic few months.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, here we go! Into the main story plot I believe. Not sure actually but its pretty big anyway. I hope you're all enjoying it!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

'_**Fortune favors the prepared mind.'  
**_**Louis Pasteur**

**oxo…oxo**

When Craig woke, the first thing he asked was "can I have some pancakes?" I had looked at him with an eyebrow raised before sniffing the air. Sure enough, May's mum was making pancakes for breakfast. I grinned down at him before nodding.

"Sure; course you can." I told him before helping him up and leading him into the kitchen where May, Ash, Max, Brock, Drew, Norman and Caroline were, most sitting at the table leaving only Caroline to make the pancakes. I sat down next to Brock and Craig sat nervously next to me, between me and Drew. Secretly, Craig was a huge fan of the green haired coordinator and he kept looking over at him before turning away quickly. The pancakes were gorgeous, like usual, and it didn't take long for Craig to finish them off. I remembered how hungry I had been when I had arrived and felt myself smile at the way he stuffed the food down his throat.

"So, what exactly is going on? Where am I? And how come your alive?" he asked when he finished his food. I wondered if he thought he was dreaming. No, the pain was too much to be a dream, I remember. I looked at him sadly before shaking my head.

"You're in the world of pokemon. I'm not dead here because this is where I decided to live." I told him simply. He looked at me in confusion and I smiled. "I can't know for sure but your coming here must be the work of a pokemon called Palkium. He is the son of Palkia and Dialga and can pass through dimensions and time and stuff. He brought me here and gave me a choice, to stay or go. By that time I already had a pokemon, met my friends and fallen in love with Brock." I said, my face heating up at the confession. Craig looked at me startled before glancing at Brock, who was smiling, and looking back at me.

"You and…" he started, a sly smile growing on his face. My own smile faltered as I realised his train of thought and my face flared. Brock had always been my favourite character when I was watching the show. I had loved him, well, as much as someone can love a fictional character, and Craig knew it.

"Craig." I said warningly, telling him with my voice not to go where I thought he was going. He smirked and shrugged before eyeing Brock and grinning. I sighed slightly before turning my eyes on Brock and the others, all of which had confused looks on their faces. "Remember when I said you were a TV show in our world?" I asked them as an explanation. They nodded. "Well, Brock used to be my favourite character ok?" I admitted, turning even redder than I thought possible.

"Even with all the flirting!" Craig finished before chuckling slightly at my face. I growled slightly before getting an idea.

"Sick um Absol!" I cried with a finger pointed at my brother causing the large dog like pokemon to leap forwards and chase a suddenly quite frightened Craig around the room.

"Ok, ok! I'm sorry!" he cried as we laughed. Feeling a small wave of guilt at his fear, I told Absol to leave him. The boy sighed slightly before climbing back into his seat at the table. I knew this was all new to him and he didn't really know whether the pokemon would hurt him or not but I had thought he might realise Absol was playing. Maybe he had, I supposed, but he didn't look like it. A smile came back to his face quickly though and I decided I should worry about him too much.

What I was really worried about though was Palkium's involvement in this. What was going on? I mean, the last time he did something like this he was punished by his mother and he hadn't liked it in the slightest. Why would he do it again? It didn't make sense and for some reason it felt like some sick joke. But I didn't believe that he would do that, not to anyone let alone me. Maybe I had misread him? Maybe his kindness and vulnerability had all been a lie, some act to send me astray? I shook myself mentally. What was I thinking? Palkium would never do that!

"Sammy? You ok?" Craig asked. I looked up at him before smiling. I know my expression hadn't changed as my mind had wandered but Craig had always had a sort of sense to see people's emotions and always mine. Brock looked at me in surprise, he had been fooled by my mask and while part of me was proud of myself, another was disappointed that he couldn't see.

"I'm ok. I was just thinking about Palkium." I told my brother quietly. His expression changed as he shook his head slightly, his sweeping white hair swaying slightly around his face and his green eyes locked on my own with a knowing gleam.

"Is he the pokemon who brought me here?" he asked dryly, causing my eyes to widen slightly and my grip on Brock's hand to tighten. Then I looked down.

"Yeah."

He nodded calmly before standing up, excusing himself and walking out the door. Ash watched the door for a moment before glancing at me and following him. I felt myself let out a small sigh of relief before I put my arms on the table and my head on my arms.

I smiled into my arms as I felt brocks hand's stroke my hair gently. I loved having people stoke and play with my hair; it was so relaxing, so calming. I was soon feeling better again. After a while, Ash came back with a laughing Craig in tow and I smiled at my brother before grinning at his return smile.

"So, who is this Palkium guy then? I've never heard of him." Craig asked me later as we walked down the road. We had decided to carry on in our journey, the party just a little bigger than before. It seemed to be growing all the time. I had given my brother Ponyta, Vaporeon and Luxio as a rental to make sure he was protected if he came across any trouble if he was on his own.

"Neither had I until I came here. He's the son of Dialga and Palkia and seems to be quite powerful. He brought me here and I assume he brought you here too." I told him. He blinked at me for a moment before his eyes furrowed into a confused frown.

"But I thought legendarys had no gender?" he asked me, curious confusion ringing in his voice. I smiled.

"Yeah, apparently they can change their genders at will but prefer humans to think they don't have a gender so they don't try and breed them." I explained. I hadn't been told the last piece of information but I figured it was a good enough reason whether or not it was their main reason. Craig nodded slightly before looking away. I turned to Brock, who was standing next to me and smiled. He smiled back before taking my hand in his again and squeezing it tight. He seemed to be doing that allot these days.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there's a valid explanation. Trust in Palkium." He whispered softly, earning a scowl from Craig at the close proximity of his lips to my ear. I blushed slightly before nodding and squeezing his hand back.

I smiled. Having Brock beside me would be a huge comfort. I knew he was right; I had to keep my faith in Palkium. But with all that had happened, it was easier said than done.

**oxo…oxo**

**I hope you like this story! I thank you for the reviews you have been giving me and I urge you to keep them coming! This is quite a hard part of the story to write and I'm trying to fit it around school work and everything else now I'm in 6****th**** form but I will try my best to complete it as well and fast as I can. Any reviews will surely help me along and inspire me to write. I know some of them already have. Special thanks to Boss-slayer451 and Latina-Chica-16 for inspiring me to write this chapter and for all your reviews along the way. ^_^**

**Please review! **


	13. Chapter 13

'_**The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.'  
**_**Oswald Chambers**

**oxo…oxo**

We arrived in the next town by mid afternoon, enough time to scout out the gym before settling into a pokemon centre. Ash was ecstatic that he had someone new that he could show his 'skills' to and was constantly telling Craig over exaggerated stories of times he had foiled team rocket and saved millions of pokemon, obviously forgetting that Craig knew what had really happened and that it wasn't as grand as he was making it out to be. But he remained politely quiet, being a good little audience and gasping, nodding and laughing when he was supposed to.

I was glad he had made friends with the gang but it would make him want to stay. I still hadn't talked to him about his decision and our parents. I was afraid to. What would he say if I told him he should go back? Would it make me some kind of selfish hypocrite? I could stay but he had to leave? How unfair would that sound?

I sighed slightly as we rounded the corner that lead to a large building I presumed to be the gym. I presumed right and we were soon entering its doors. The main doors lead into a large battle hall, one with a rocky ground rather than the regular polished wood. I saw Ash grin and struggled to contain my own. This could be fun.

"Who is it who enters my gym?" came a voice from above us. Looking up, I gasped as a large Charizard flew inches over my head, a man sitting on its back with a grin. I gasped again as the man did a flip off the pokemon and landed on the opposite side of the battle field. I knew that face! He had grey hair but was young and his eyes were a dazzling blue, pupil-less and inquisitive.

"My name's Ash Ketchum and I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" the boy declared, as proudly as ever. The man smirked. He looked little over seventeen; even with his grey hair.

"Well, that would be me my friend; gym leader Ryan. You want to battle now? I have time and I've been dying for a battle all day." He challenged with a grin. Yes, defiantly that gym leader I saw in the vision Palkium showed me of Absol's past. His eyes roamed the rest of us as Ash nodded excitedly; cheering the fact he was about to battle. Ryan's eyes locked on Absol for a moment, widening slightly before they narrowed. Then he looked at me and studied me with a suspicious look.

"Do you want to battle me first?" I asked him, causing the others to look at me in surprise and Ash to quieten. Ryan nodded slowly before calling Charizard out onto the battle field. I guess he recognised Absol and though I might be that girl in disguise. I wondered how many times she had tried. I would wait and see what he thought of my battling before I told him my story. I grinned before turning to Craig.

"Pokemon please." I asked him, holding out my hands for the pokeballs and grinning as he placed them in my hand.

"I can't wait to see this." He told me with a cheeky grin. I giggled slightly before walking over to the battlefield. A referee had appeared out of nowhere to instruct the battle and when we were ready, Charizard against Vaporeon, we began.

"Charizard, wing attack!" Ryan instructed quickly.

"Dodge and water pulse Vaporeon!" I countered swiftly, watching as Vaporeon ran towards Charizard before using the momentum to jump over it and hit it in the back with a well aimed water pulse. I smirked before calling another move on Charizard. "Aurora beam!"

Vaporeon nodded before letting out the beautiful multicoloured beam of ice which hit Charizard's wing in his attempt to dodge.

"Overheat Charizard!" Ryan called; his face alive with the battle. I grinned before instructing Vaporeon to dodge and use surf. She did and the surf hit Charizard straight on. Any lesser fire pokemon would have fainted by now but Charizard was strong, managing to stay on his feet. Ryan grimaced before calling another attack; overheat again. This time Vaporeon was unable to dodge it and it hit her straight on, causing some major damage for a fire type move. I cursed mentally before sending Vaporeon on into a water gun. It hit Charizard, managing to knock him out.

The next pokemon called out was a Ninetales. She was a beautiful creature and looked very powerful. I wasn't surprised when the golden pokemon knocked Vaporeon out with only a bite. I bit my lip worriedly before calling out Medicham. I knew I needed a stronger pokemon but I wanted to leave Absol for last. I was stubborn like that. Medicham folded his arms as he studied the fox in front of him. He seemed vaguely unimpressed but it was hard to tell with him.

"Medicham, psychic!" I called. He complied, his eyes glowing as he completed the move that sent Ninetales across the room. "Good, now force palm." I continued. Medicham nodded before racing towards the fallen pokemon.

"dodge!" Ryan yelled, causing Ninetales to leap up into the air. Medicham's expression didn't change as he turned his head upward and followed the nine tailed fox through the air, his attack landing just where he wanted it to and sending Ninetales back to the floor in a heap. "Flame thrower Ninetales!" Ryan ordered as the pokemon got unsteadily to her feet. She complied, opening her mouth and letting out a large burst of flame that hit the close by Medicham head on, propelling him backwards where he bounced off the floor once, flipped over and landed on his face. It was a painfully hard landing.

"Medicham!" I called worriedly, sighing in relief as he picked himself up off the floor and glared at Ninetales. The fox pokemon was smiling slightly at her success and it seemed to be pissing Medicham off slightly. He looked at me for a moment with a confident look and it took me a while to work out what he wanted. But then I smiled. "Go for it." I told him with an encouraging smile. He nodded before giving me a small smile back and racing forwards. I had stopped using the move high jump kick because of the effect it had on Medicham when he failed but he wanted to do it. It was his most powerful attack if it landed, but the most dangerous to himself if it didn't. I was worried as he approached the Ninetales but I tried not to let it show.

"Dodge!" Ryan instructed again but Ninetales didn't move. She, like Gardevoir, didn't know what to do. With no idea what was coming, how could to dodge it? The high jump kick hit her in the back and caused the rocky field to crack as she and Medicham crashed into it. When the dust cleared Medicham was standing up but breathing heavily and Ninetales was knocked out. The referee declared the winner of the round and Ryan returned his Ninetales before pulling out anther pokeball. When Umbrion was called out, I smiled. Then, looking at my exhausted Medicham, I returned the psychic pokemon and turned to Absol.

"Your turn." I told him softly. He nodded before walking out onto the field to face the Umbrion he had once lost so fiercely to. The eevolution sneered, obviously remembering Absol and their last battle. When the battle began, I took the liberty of beginning. "Ice beam!" I told him. He nodded and opened his mouth to release the attack before shooting the white beam of ice straight at a surprised looking Umbrion. Ice beam was a move I had taught Absol, so Ryan and Umbrion would not have been expecting it to come from him. I smirked as that surprise worked to my advantage and Umbrion was covered in a layer of ice.

"Umbrion!" Ryan called out in worry. There was no reply from the frozen little pokemon.

"Razor wind Absol!" I told the disaster pokemon quickly. I didn't want to win because Umbrion was disqualified. Ryan looked up at me in surprise before his eyes turned to the large and powerful looking razor wind that was speeding across the field towards the immobilised pokemon. The attack shattered the ice and catapulted the little eevolution across the field where it landed in a heap by its master. As it got up it hissed slightly at Absol, obviously not pleased at the way things were turning out.

"Shadow ball Umbrion!" Ryan instructed and the little pokemon raced forwards to carry out its master's wishes. This time it was Absol's time to be surprised; the pokemon was faster than he had expected and didn't leave enough time to dodge as it got in close and fired the shadow ball, hitting him in the side and sending him backwards. Absol grimaced but managed to stay on his feet. I frowned before smiling.

"Ice beam again!" I called. Absol nodded before shooting the beam at the now ready Umbrion.

"You can't get us twice with the same thing!" Ryan called before instructing his pokemon. "Dodge and shadow ball again!" the pokemon nodded before dodging the ice beam and firing a long distance shadow ball. I grinned; they were falling for my trap.

"Absol, iron tail and razor wind!" I told him. The pokemon smirked before nodding and leaping forwards, his iron tail meeting the shadow ball in mid air before exploring in a cloud of smoke. Then, the white beam of light that was razor wind erupted from it and hit Umbrion straight on. "Now use iron tail again!" I cried, hoping to get in quickly before Umbrion could dodge. We managed and Umbrion was knocked out cold from a powerful iron tail to the back of the neck. The referee pronounced me the winner and I grinned.

Ryan returned his Umbrion and walked towards me, a smile on his face. "Well done. You are a better owner to that Absol than his pervious one. But I need to ask, how did you manage to get him?" he asked. I smiled and shrugged.

"I found him in the woods." I told him simply. He looked confused so I sighed and explained. I told him about how I met Absol (but not about the 'I'm from another world' thing) and then about the vision Palkium had given me about what had happened to Absol after his last match with him. The gym leader shook his head sadly.

"That poor deprived girl and her poor, poor misused pokemon." he sighed dramatically before smiling at me. "But you are different. Here, you deserve this." He told me as he placed the badge into my hand. "It's the fire badge. Treat it nicely." He told me with a grin. I smiled back before frowning in confusion.

"Wait, if you're a fire type trainer, why do you have an Umbrion?" I asked him. His grin widened and he chuckled slightly.

"That, my dear, is a good question. No one has ever thought to as me that before. It's because she evolved into an Umbrion before I managed to get my hands on a fire stone." He told me with an embarrassed smile. "Not that I mind of course but that is the reason." He finished before scratching the back f his head. I giggled slightly before shaking my own head and walking away to the rest of the gang. They were all grinning but none as much as Craig. I felt a tinge of guilt at the fact that I _still_ had to convince him to leave and all I seemed to be doing was making him want to stay. This was going to be way more complicated than need be.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, that's chapter 13. It loads longer than usual but I assume that's not a bad thing? It all feels like it fits and I know that you 'Boss-slayer451' love your action. So here it is! Hopefully you'll find out what's going on with Palkium next chapter. Back to the dream world of italics! **

**Please review! **


	14. Chapter 14

"_**Murder is only killing in the wrong place." **_

**oxo…oxo**

_I opened my eyes cautiously, not really understanding what was going on. It felt like that time I had seen Absol's past but it looked completely different. I was in a small, dark room filled with strange equipment and a table with three strangely coloured pokeballs on it. Suddenly, the door opened and a light turned on behind me. I turned and my eyes widened when I saw what was there. It was a large metal ring with a human sized pokemon was being held, his head down and his arms and legs strapped to the sides of the ring. It was Palkium._

_I turned to the side as I heard the door click shut and watched as a man with dirty blonde hair and violet eyes approached the pokemon with a sick smirk on his face. As he reached Palkium, he lifted the pokemon's head up so he could look into his eyes. Palkium's eyes were heavy and heartbroken. It was painful to see my friend this way and I so wanted to kick the man where it hurts but I knew that in this dream state it would be futile. So I seethed quietly as the man began to speak. _

"_The boy's transfer was a success, well done." He said menacingly. Though the words seemed to be praise they made Palkium's eyes narrow and sent shivers down my spine. "Next we will begin to transfer one of our men to that world. If that's a success then we will transfer an army. That world will belong to me." He told the pokemon sweetly. Palkium growled slightly. _

"_You have no idea what you are doing!" He snarled at the man. The man pulled away with an unimpressed look on his face. _

"_Don't I? I believe I know exactly what I'm doing. After conquering the other world, this one will come so much easier. Why rule one world when you can rule two?" he asked in a toying voice. _

"_You'll never be able to go back!" Palkium exclaimed. "The boy can never go back to his world thanks to that machine you created! Your men won't be able to return to their former world either!" He explained desperately. I felt my blood run cold. 'That boy'? Was it Craig? And if so, he could never go back? The man shrugged carelessly before looking over to where another man in a strange uniform stood. _

"_Do you think that will be a problem?" he asked the man. The other man gulped before shaking his head nervously._

"_No, Yuki sir." _

_The violet eyed man smirked. "See?" he asked Palkium as he turned back to the pokemon. "There is no need to fret my dear friend; I don't need them to come back. I can rule form here." He told Palkium before patting him on the head. Then, there was an angry sounding roar and I turned to see a red light come from one of the pokeballs on the table to reveal a furious looking Palkia. The man, Yuki, took a step back before shouting something at the other man that I couldn't hear. The other man shot forwards to grab the pokeball before yelling "return" and capturing Palkia back into the ball. My heart began to beat fast. They had caught Palkia? My eyes flickered to the other two pokeballs. Was one of them containing Dialga? And what about the other? Was it Palkium's? _

_Looking back at the pokemon chained to the ring I saw he was looking at me with a hint of determination. He could see me? My eyes narrowed as I nodded at him. He had brought me here in my dreams to warn me; there was another power at work, one more deadly than even a legendary. _

_I gasped as I felt myself being pulled backwards and through the wall, stopping when I could see the outside of the building. It was large with a huge metal fence around the edge. Then, after I had memorised what it looked like, I was pulled back again, further this time; all the way down the mountain and to the town we were currently in. I was left floating on top of it for a moment before the world around me went black._

**xxx…xxx**

I woke in a cold sweat in the pokemon centre bed next to May. I sat there for a couple of minutes, mulling over what I had seen before lowering myself back into bed. There was no use telling people about it now. It was something that could easily wait until morning and yet I knew I would be awake until then. Cursing mentally, I dressed silently before grabbing my pokeball belt and exiting the room.

The cold air outside the pokemon centre was a welcome relief from the stifling heat inside. I breathed heavily, watching as the warm air from my mouth came out it large puffs of steam. The moon and stars were bright, lighting up the night in a way street lamps never could. It was beautiful. Absol was resting in his pokeball from his battle so I took out one of the others; releasing Roselia into the cold night air. She shivered slightly at the change in temperature before looking up at me worriedly.

I didn't meet her gaze, only walked onwards down the road before collapsing onto a bench and continuing to stare up at the night sky. In all its beauty it sill seemed bleak. That was, until I spotted the shooting star. Sitting up and widening my eyes in surprise and excitement, I made a wish on the star that shot through the sky.

_Please allow me to see what it is I need to do._

**oxo…oxo**

**Chapter 14. I hope you like it. I know its short but it had a lot in it so I figured it was ok. So now you know (sort of) what Palkium's been doing and who's behind Craig's transfer. (sort of)**

**Please review! **


	15. Chapter 15

'_**Being a woman is like being powerful; if you have to tell people, your not.'**_

**Margaret Thatcher (I think…)**

**oxo…oxo**

Roselia and I sat in silent harmony for the rest of the night, quietly watching the stars as we sat on the bench, curled up in scarves and jumpers I had brought out with us. That was where Brock found us, curled up together on the bench, watching people pass by us without a care in the world. It was his voice that brought me back to reality.

"Sammy? What are you doing? We've been looking for you for ages." He told me with a frown. I cringed slightly at the realisation of my friends worry but then my vision from last night came back to me and I looked down. "Sammy?" he asked again, his tone worried now. I sighed before standing up with Roselia clutched to my shoulder, her face nuzzling my cheek. I smiled at her slightly before walking past Brock without meeting his eyes.

I knew I was worrying him and it made me feel so guilty, but I couldn't meet them yet. I couldn't meet his eyes until the pain in my eyes was gone. It would only worry him more. He didn't move for a minute or so before he followed me back to the pokemon centre.

It didn't take me long to find the others. They were sitting at one of the tables eating breakfast and laughing with one another. I frowned for a moment, wondering why they looked so unconcerned when Brock had told me they were worried stiff, but then I noticed Brock's Mudkip on the table and it all made sense. Brock had sent Mudkip to tell them I was ok when he found me. I felt myself smiling as I continued over to the group, but it soon faded.

"Sammy!" May cried out happily, noticing me first. I didn't smile this time. Looking at Craig I saw him frown; he had seen the pain in my eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked, standing up and walking over to me. Roselia jumped off my shoulder before landing on the table and I felt tears come to my eyes as I thought back to what Palkium had told that man. My brother would never be able to go back and our parents would be alone. They already were alone. But I still couldn't discuss it with him. It still felt wrong, so I stayed silent for a while, content to let his arms surround me until I was forced to answer questions.

And the questions came, starting with Craig. "Sammy, you need to tell me what's wrong!" he pleaded, holding me away from him in attempt to make me talk. I sighed, not meeting his eyes, before explaining.

"I had another vision from Palkium last night. He's being held captive by some strange group of people up on the mountain. He's also being used to fuel some sort of machine I think… it was, if I'm correct, that machine that brought you here Craig and if what Palkium said is true, you can never go back, even if you wanted to. Mum and dad, there all alone now." I told him, the last sentence turning into a sob as I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to keep myself together. Craig just stood there in shock, slowly taking in what he had heard.

My head shot up as arms wrapped around me from behind and when I turned I saw Brock, his face by my shoulder, turned into my hair comfortingly. Bringing my arms up to grip his, I smiled slightly. I had forgotten the comfort Brock's hugs could bring.

"Where is this place in the mountains that Palkium's being held?" Drew asked angrily. I looked at him in surprise before my eyes turned to May, who was standing next to the green haired coordinator with an identical expression on her face.

"Well, I can't explain exactly. Its in the mountains, I could get there but I couldn't give directions." I told him in confusion.

"Then we should go." Ash said with a determined expression as he came forward with his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face. My eyes widened and I felt brocks head lift though his arms did not slack. Craig blinked before turning to look at the boy in surprise.

"But what about your gym battle?" I asked the raven haired boy in confusion. He shrugged and grinned.

"We can always come back. Palkium is important to you right? Then let's go! It'll take long enough to get their as it is." He explained eagerly.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed from the boy's shoulder. I smiled slightly and nodded, pulling away from Brock and allowing Roselia to get back on my shoulders.

"Well, we really should go then shouldn't we?" I asked with a smile, the pain gone from my eyes while I was distracted with the thought of rescuing Palkium. Maybe he would have a solution to our problem. Not once did I think about the fact that it might be too much to handle. Not once did I think we might fail. Honestly, the thought just never occurred to me that they would be too powerful.

Maybe if I had I might have been more careful, too careful. But then, it was something I would never know. All I cared about from that moment on was rescuing Palkium and finding a way to help my parents.

**oxo…oxo**

**Chapter 15!**

**Short, I know, but hopefully it will start getting longer. I was really unsure how to write this chapter, it was difficult, so I didn't see the harm in cutting it a bit short. **

**Thank you for reading and please review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**oxo…oxo**

We travelled a fair distance that day, not stopping for anything in the woods. I had given Craig three of my pokemon again to keep him safe. I don't know what I would do if he was hurt. After two days of solid walking; stopping only at night to sleep – generally in the tents- and for necessities, we came across the large wire fence that surrounded the building. I glared at it determinedly. There was no way a_ fence_ was stopping me from saving Palkium.

"Drew, can you give us all a lift over on Flygon?" I asked him seriously. He nodded before getting the flying pokemon out and giving us a ride over, one by one. When we were all over the fence, we crept quietly through the bushes that surrounded us; crawling to the entrance. Surprisingly, there were no guards but I sent Craig round to check; he was good at this kind of stuff. He came back a few minutes later to report.

"There are no guards but the entrances all have cameras on them, we would be seen. Unless we can get through a window were done for." He told me grimly. I nodded before thinking. Somehow I had become the leader of this mission and as such I needed to be decisive and quick thinking.

"We would all get caught if we tried to move around together. How many windows are there?" I asked. Craig thought for a moment before answering.

"Three."

"Ok then. Ash and Max, you take one. Drew and May will be a pair and us three will go to the last one, ok?" I asked. They all nodded before looking to Craig for directions. He gave them swiftly before letting them go. I felt uneasy about splitting up like this but it had been my idea and it was too late to change now.

Craig led us too the window we were to be entering. It was a small window but still bug enough that we could squeeze through. The only problem was that it was about five meters off the floor. I looked at Brock with a worried expression before sighing and calling out Medicham. The pokemon looked at me with crossed arms for a moment before sighing. I got the impression he knew what I was going to ask.

"Do you think you could get us up there?" I asked him, pointing up to the window. He nodded before allowing his eyes to glow. The pink light surrounded me before lifting me gently into the air. With a series of arm motions, Medicham managed to set me down on the window ledge where I proceeded to check the hallway below and open the window before dropping myself onto the floor. Brock and Craig followed the same way before Medicham leapt in after them.

The hallway was quiet and seemingly lifeless. Where were all these men that the Yuki man had been on about? Surely they wouldn't just lave the corridors empty? Unless, of course, it was a trap. Maybe they knew we were coming and had made the coast clear so we would feel more relaxed. I frowned slightly at the idea. If that was the plan it wasn't working. I was less relaxed than I was before we entered the building. Craig and Brock seemed ill at ease as well but we continued quietly through the corridors towards the room Palkium was being held. But then, I heard a growl form behind us. Mightyena. Great.

Medicham sprang forwards, using a quick series of punches and kicks to knock out the poor pokemon. Then we ran as other Mightyena chased us down the hall way. We dodged boxes and doors, crashing into walls as we flew at high speeds down the corridor. Crap, was all I was thinking but then I stopped, moving to a door I had spotted out of the corner of my eye. It looked familiar but it had a keypad on the lock. Gritting my teeth I racked my brain before coming up with the combination. Brock and Craig watched me in confusion and worry as I swiftly typed the series of numbers into the keypad, grinning as I heard the successful click of the door.

I swung it open, waiting for Medicham, Brock and Craig to come through before slamming it in the mightyena's faces. Letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, I lent against the door, the others puffing in front of me.

"Sammy?" a familiar voice asked in surprise. I looked up with wide eyes to see Palkium, the way I had seen him in my dream but looking a lot more ragged than before.

"Palkium!" I answered, my voice tinged with delight as I rushed towards the young legendary. He was smiling slightly but his eyes were tired. I guessed it hadn't been long since they had used that machine on him. "What happened to you?" I asked as I undid his bounds. He groaned slightly as he rubbed his wrists before answering.

"Well, one day, when I was still in the legendary universe, some men came and caught me, mother and father in master balls; a type of pokeball that cannot fail to catch even a legendary. They then brought us here and have been using my powers to fuel some sort of transport machine that can transfer someone from one world to the next but cannot transfer them back." He explained as I released the bonds on his feet. When he was released, he began to float, obviously having missed the experience.

"We have to go!" Brock exclaimed quickly as the door began to rattle. I bit my lip before nodding and turning to the table behind me. On it sat the three master balls. I grabbed them, shrinked them and put them quickly into my belt, making them look like they were regular pokeballs. Then we crashed through the door, Medicham leading the way with an explosive thunder punch that left most of the mightyena unconscious. The few that were left shook themselves before chasing after us.

"Medicham, use teleport to tell the others to get out!" I cried. He nodded and was about to go when we were stopped by a menacing voice.

"There's no need for that." He said from behind. A shiver ran down my back as I realised who it was coming from. We turned slowly to find ourselves facing Yuki and two men, each holding a pair of people from the scruffs of their necks.

May, Drew, Ash and Max had all been captured. Then I realised what had happened. Instead of going after us, he had captured them so he would have a bargaining chip. He had the upper hand now; we would do anything he asked and he knew it. It was all my fault. I glared at his smirking face as he moved forwards towards me, my eyes narrowed in hate at the man that was holding my friends captive.

"Good. If you give me back those pokeballs you took, I'll set your little friends free. If not…well, lets not speculate shall we?" he told me with a smug smirk, his eyes triumphant. I hissed at him slightly before taking out the three master balls.

"Sammy!" Palkium gasped, not believing that I would betray him like this. I closed my eyes, feeling as the pokeballs ran over my fingers. I could feel their energy in my hands and knew that I couldn't give them away, even if I had wanted to do so. Opening my eyes again, I fixed Yuki with a determined glare before enlarging one of the pokeballs and throwing it towards him. His eyes widened and he want to catch the ball but it exploded in a red light and I winced slightly as an angry roar resounded in the corridor, the walls beginning to crack around us.

"Agh!" one of the men screamed, dropping Max and Ash before racing off down the hall. The other man watched him with wide eyes before looking back and seeing the roof begin to cave in as it tried to cater for the glowing Palkia trying to materialise there, causing him to follow his comrade, also dropping his hostages.

"Guys!" I called to the four, beckoning them towards us before turning to run, leaving a frightened Yuki to deal with Palkia's anger.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, I think this has taken a different turn… hopefully it wont become too dark -_-**

**I hope your liking it! And don't worry; this isn't the end, not yet!**

**Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

'_**Free men are the strongest men.'  
**_**Wendell Willkie**

**oxo…oxo**

We ran as quickly as we could from that building in the mountain; watching as we ran the fierce beatings Palkia gave it. She was mad, so mad that she brought down the entire building, and I didn't have any plans to get in her way this time. When we had reached the relative safety of the far woods we stopped to rest. I took this time to ask Palkium about what was going on.

"Well I suppose I should start where I left off." he began. "Basically, they used this machine to transport someone from your world to ours, to see if it worked. It did. I honestly mean it when I tell you I had no control over who they brought. Somehow they had found out about you Sammy and wanted to replicate it. I supposed they thought if they could replicate the original then it wouldn't take much to reverse it. I never thought they would take Craig, I'm sorry!" he finished, his eyes pleading as he stared at me. I looked at him with wide eyes before turning my gaze to a startled looking Craig.

"Well, I don't mind. I love it here." Craig said as he gained back his composure. My heart sank at his words and yet lifted at the same time. I would have my brother back again! But it meant mum and dad would be alone; not that he even had a choice in the matter anymore. Palkium blinked.

"Oh. But your family, your parents. They've lost you both now." He stated quietly, causing Craig's eyes to widen and for him to look at me. Yes, now he gets it. I gave him a look that said 'you're only _now_ getting it?' before sighing slightly and looking away from him. I nodded at Palkium to continue. "The machine also made it so that I couldn't control what came and what stayed. A person can live without a soul but not without their heart." He continued before Brock interrupted him.

"Hold on a sec; can you explain that please?" he asked, holding his hands up in defeat. Palkium looked at him for a moment with a frown before nodding.

"A person has both a soul and a heart spirit. The heart spirit is what keeps the body going and the soul is their essence or consciousness. It's the reason Sammy was only put into a coma when she left the first time. She was borrowing some of my heart spirit to keep her body in this world alive as she inhabited it with only her soul; her own heart spirit staying in her own body. When she made the decision to stay here, I took her heart spirit from her body in her old world and placed it in the one she uses now. With her I had control over that. With Craig it was different.

As the machine didn't allow me primary control, I was forced to take both the soul and the heart sprit from your other body and place it in this one. In your old world, your already dead." He finished glumly, pulling his eyes from Brock to me to Craig. He was shocked. The knowledge that he was dead in our world had spooked him and that the impact it would be having on our parents would be great spooked him even more. My eyes narrowing in sympathy, I hugged my brother, liking the fact that it was _my_ turn to comfort _him_.

"So what do they plan on doing now?" Drew asked. Palkium looked at him with his rugged looking face.

"When you arrived they had just sent a man over to your world and maintained successful contact with him. There next move was to sent over a few people with pokemon and control them from this world. Your people would have no attack against pokemon; they wouldn't expect it." Palkium answered, moving his hands around nervously as he explained. I sighed slightly.

"But now we have you they can't do it?" May asked quietly and hopefully, but Palkium shook his head.

"They will have enough spare residue at their main base to send just over a hundred men, each with six or more pokemon each." He told us, causing Ash and May to gasp simultaneously. I sighed again before pulling away from my brother and placing my hands on Palkium's floating shoulders.

"There's _another_ one? _Another_ base?" I asked him with serious eyes. He looked away and nodded.

"Yuki was never the one who was in charge. I never met them but there was always someone giving him orders. However much he acted like the boss I could always tell he was never truly in charge." He told me sadly and I pulled away in astonishment. If Yuki wasn't in charge, who was? Who was it who was truly bending our lives to their will? Who was it who wanted to wage war on my home world? And another important question, how did they find out about it in the first place? This was the one that really got me. None of the other questions were really valid without it.

**oxo…oxo**

**Ok, sorry for the shot wait and the shortness of the thing but I'm looking at writing another story; a bleach and Inuyasha crossover… not sure how its going to work out but I showed the first chapter to my friend and he liked it so its just getting anything past that but I don't think I'll get serious about it until I get this done… though I have no idea where it's going… **

**Please review and tell me your opinions! **

**(And I'll try and get all the spellings and corrections done properly this time ^_^)**


	18. Chapter 18

'_**Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.'  
**_**Bo Jackson**

**oxo…oxo**

Palkium didn't know where the other base was so when Palkia came back from her destruction spree with a map of the Hoenn region that showed all the bases including the main one we were very happy with the legendary pokemon. Incidentally though, due to secrecy purposes, we had to return her back the pokeball. She went into it without resisting, her only complaint the sad look she gave me, but she knew why she was needed to stay in there. Palkium was also returned to his ball. He seemed slightly relieved to be returned as he really just felt like sleeping.

We walked for days, following the map to find where it was we were going before finally arriving at the large building that was the main base. It was situated in the middle of a small town and had the words 'Riley's industry' gilded onto the top, causing me to assume that no one in this town knew what it really was. All they saw was a factory building but we knew better. There had to be a way into that place. I released Medicham before asking the pokemon to scout around, looking for an entrance. He complied and arrived soon after with the necessary information.

Apparently there was a small hatch round the back of the building that led to the basement of this strange building. I thanked Medicham before returning him and looking at the others as we sat in the pokemon centre, all our hands filled with warm cups of steaming hot drinks.

"So what do we do?" May asked, her eyes filled with anxious concern. No one really had a good answer for that question. I didn't want the younger ones to risk themselves further; they could have been seriously hurt in that last place and I didn't want to see them hurt in any way. Also, the plan would probably be more likely to succeed if there were less people; less people, less likely to be caught. With three legendary's on our side, power wasn't a huge problem. Palkium had put their capture down to the fact that they hadn't expected to actually be caught. Because they had underestimated the balls being thrown at them, thinking them regular pokeballs, they hadn't bothered to dodge them, allowing the master balls to hit and capture them.

"We go in of course!" Ash cried determinedly. Though I respected his attitude and determination, there was no way I was letting him come.

"No, _we_ go in. As in Brock Craig and I. No one else." I corrected quietly, efficiently gaining the attention of everyone.

"What? No way!" Ash cried back, his face filled with disbelief. May, Max and Drew's faces were he same but Craig and Brock both kept their gazes steady.

"Yes way. You are not coming, it's too dangerous; end of discussion." I told them simply, letting their cries of defiance fall on deaf ears. Brock took my hand and squeezed it gently, letting me know he was on my side. Craig on the other hand was beginning to grin at some of the things the four were coming out with. I had to applaud their imaginations for coming up with such fluent cursing.

"Guys, Sammy's right. It's too dangerous. Besides, if we have too many people we'll be too easy to spot, you get me?" Brock intervened, his voice taking on that no nonsense one he used every once in a while. They quietened at once but the looks of defiance were still thrown at us. I sighed slightly. I didn't like stopping them doing what they wanted to do but I had to for their own safety; who knows what could be in that building, best not to underestimate them again.

It was easy enough to get into the building. The small hatch Medicham had found was easy enough to get too and the lock that kept it together was easily broken with a combination of ice beam and razor leaf. The next step wasn't so simple. After finding the stairs and following them up and into a white walled corridor that looked suspiciously like the corridors in the other base, I groaned quietly at the sight of the large wolf pokemon that guarded the halls. This time the Mightyena were accompanied by Houndoom; another complication.

"Crap." I cursed under my breath before retreating to where the other pair sat.

"What's up?" Craig asked at a whisper, his voice concerned. I explained the situation and grimaced as he winced at the negative assessment. "Crap." He agreed, pulling a face as he glanced from me to Brock and back again. Brock sighed.

"Well, we have to go some time. Were there any openings?" he asked me, causing me to frown as I thought. Quietly, I crept back up the stairs and poked my nose back round the door. After watching for a longer time, I noticed that every couple of minutes there was a lessen in the amount of pokemon that graced the halls. Feeling a small smile come to my face I went back to where Brock and Craig were waiting and told them of my findings.

"Cool. Let's go for it then." Craig whispered, his face cracking into a grin at my assessment. I grinned back at him and Brock nodded before I led them both up the stairs and we watched for the stem in the flow. When it came we quickly dashed through the corridor. I winced slightly at the Mightyena cry as it spotted us, calling upon the rest as it took up the chase. Racing through the halls we searched for somewhere that looked like it might be important. After several long minutes of running we came across what we were looking for.

"In there!" I cried breathlessly, pointing at the exquisite looking door at the end of the hall. Brock suddenly sped up slightly before opening it at letting us through, closing it in front of the Mightyena and Houndoom. I gave out a long sigh before turning to look at the room, my eyes widening as I saw who sat behind the large oak desk in the middle of the room.

There sat a girl of around 18 years old with deep red hair and pale blue eyes; a stark comparison that I would recognize anywhere. It was the girl who had owned Absol previous to me and had left him to die in the wild. I felt my anger spike and I had to breath in deeply to get myself to stay calm. The girl looked at us, her face slightly startled. We seemed to have interrupted something, a man wearing nothing but black was standing beside the girl with a startled look on his face, but I couldn't really care less. I narrowed my eyes to a glare as I turned towards her. She was the person behind this?

"Are you the person who abducted Palkium?" Craig asked, no hostility in his voice yet but suspicion laced it. The girl raised an eyebrow before smiling sweetly, causing Craig to gasp. I looked at his face in annoyance to see he found her very attractive. I couldn't believe my eyes. Out of sheer annoyance I lifted my hand to smack him round the head, effectively bringing him back to his senses. He looked at me with a glare but I just glared back at him with such intensity he flinched.

"I suppose you could say that." The girl answered with an amused tone in her voice, causing me to turn my glare back on her. "Yes; me, Melissa Grave. I am indeed responsible for capturing Palkium, Palkia and Dialga, bringing you here, creating an army to take over your world…" she listed, her voice light and uncaring. It made my anger flare and I had to grab hold of Brocks hand to keep myself from punching her.

"Why?" he asked her, squeezing my hand reassuringly as he glared at the girl. She grinned.

"Power of course. Why should I try to just rule this world when I can rule yours? Besides, if I rule your world I rule this one, don't I?" she asked in a sweet voice, dripping with malice. The man who had been talking before was now standing in the corner, watching the scene unfold. I growled. How dare she?

"Call them off!" I snarled, startling the two boys as I took out one of my pokeballs and enlarging it, ready to release the pokemon inside. The man moved quickly to defend his mistress, pulling out his own pokeballs and standing in front of her, ready to fight. I glared at him for a moment, his amber eyes meeting my emerald ones, before she put her hand on his shoulder and he stepped away startled.

"And why should I do that?" she asked me in amusement. My eyes narrowed still further and she grinned, grabbing her own pokeball out of a belt that went over her back. Enlarging it, she released the pokemon inside, revealing a pretty looking Kirla. I glared at it harshly, causing the poor thing to reel back in fear. Then, I released Absol. Never did it occur to me that it might have been a bad idea to unexpectedly bring Absol out against his old trainer but it seemed to unnerve him. Melissa was vaguely intrigued when she recognised the pokemon, causing him to flinch as she gave him a vulpine grin.

"Sammy…" Brock cautioned darkly but I was too far into my anger to listen to him, and that would be where I went wrong.

**oxo…oxo**

**Sorry, I've had writers block then I went on holiday… the end's pretty pants but I couldn't think of any other way to end there… continuing with the battle next time I think… I'M SO SORRY!**

**please reveiw! even if it is just to express your anger at the wait...**


	19. Chapter 19

**oxo…oxo**

"Absol, dark pulse!" I cried loudly, instructing the pokemon with a hard voice that made Absol flinch slightly but he complied, throwing the dark energy towards the Kirla. She dodged it quickly before using razor leaf at Melissa's command. The attack hit quickly sending Absol across the room. I hissed in anger, causing Absol to back away from me. I felt my eyes widen as the guilt pulsed through me; I wasn't angry at Absol, I was angry at both myself and Melissa.

"Now, now Sammy! Is that any way to treat an injured pokemon?" said girl asked with a scathing tone that told me she was enjoying this immensely. I turned and growled at her.

"Like you can talk." I shot back at her. She shrugged before sending her Kirla forward into a psychic type attack. "Absol, dodge it and use ice beam!" I cried with desperation in my voice, hoping he would still follow my instructions after my temper tantrum. He did. I made a mental not to give him a huge hug and treat him like a prince when this was over. The ice beam hit, freezing Kirla in place, her eyes wide and scared. I grinned. "Nice! Now use razor wind!" I told him, my voice more confident now we were back on form.

"Teleport." Melissa called calmly and I watched as Kirla disappeared from the ice just the powerful attack ploughed through it, causing Melissa's eyes to widen as it powered past her and hit the wall, crashing into it with a blinding crash. Laughter filled the room as the smoke cleared and it took me a few moments to realise it was coming from me; a strange, manic laughter of someone who had lost their mind. Brock and Craig were looking at me worriedly. I wondered what I looked like to them; did they think I had gone insane?

"Crunch!" I called through my laughter. Absol looked at worriedly for a moment before leaping up and biting Kirla in the arm. She squealed slightly as he threw her across the room and into the destruction of the wall. I was grinning from ear to ear, unable to control this reaction to my anger. I'm pretty sure by the look on Melissa's face that it wasn't a nice grin either.

"Kirla, solar beam!" Melissa called, her eyes narrowed. I had expected a slower response to this attack but it was instant. Only afterwards did I realise the last attack had sent Kirla through the wall and out into the blinding sunshine, making it so the solar beam needed only a few seconds to charge. It hit Absol directly, sending him flying over my head and into the wall, knocking him out. The smile left my face as I watched him fly and I was by his side in an instant, tears falling from my eyes as I knelt beside him. "Well, well. Isn't that sweet." Melissa taunted, the amused look back on her face as she watched me. I glared at her.

"Stop the invasion!" I yelled at her, taking my anger back out on her like I should have been to start with. She smirked.

"You know I would love to but I'm afraid it's too late." She told us with her hands at shoulder height, palms facing up in a shrug. I growled at her.

"You couldn't have said that earlier?" Craig asked, echoing the question running through my mind. I returned Absol before standing up and facing her again, not bothering to stem the flow of tears that ran down my face.

"What fun would that have been?" she asked with an innocent looking smile. I could feel my blood boiling as she turned to the man behind her and made a 'come hither' motion with her finger. He nodded before walking over to her where she grabbed onto his arm and waited for Kirla to jump onto her head. Then she looked at us again and grinned. "Honestly though, you're too late. Don't try and find a way to stop me because there isn't a way! So bye, bye!" she called, waving at us with her toothy grin. I snarled, realising what she was about to do as I threw myself at her, but I was too late. She vanished; Kirla teleporting the pair to god knows where. I heard Craig let out a relived sigh and suddenly it was if the ice had broken. We all breathed easily again.

"You really should learn to control your temper Sammy." Came Palkium's voice from beside me. I jumped slightly before turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"When did you get out?" I asked him, my voice trembling slightly.

"Just now actually. Do you think they kept me out of that pokeball 'cause they wanted to?" he asked me in a tone that said 'what are you stupid?' I sighed as I tried to get my nerves back, a feat helped by Brock's hands wrapping themselves around my waist. I squeezed his wrists tightly in thanks before eyeing Palkium again.

"What now then?" I asked him, my tone suggesting that I didn't appreciate his last comment. That got a vulpine grin from him as he watched me happily; too happily in my opinion.

"I suppose that's up to mum and dad now isn't it?" he replied, confusing me entirely. I didn't get time to ask him what he meant however before I realised the pokeballs holding the two legendaries were glowing. My eyes widened slightly as two balls of light flew from my belt, one blue and one purple. The blue one headed towards Craig, hovering in front of him for a moment before turning into a smaller and more transparent version of Dialga materialised in front of him. As I watched the other ball of light it settled in front of my face before I found myself staring into the eyes of a vaguely transparent Palkia. Brock had stepped away from me as I found myself frozen, those bewitching eyes holding me in place as she put her hands up to stroke my face softly. I couldn't feel her hands but there was a tingling sensation in my cheeks that slowly spread through my entire body, causing me to gasp slightly.

Then, she came closer, pulling her body so that it fit next to mine then into it and into my very core, causing me to shiver as her power swept over me. I could feel the raw strength and power that Palkium held and it overwhelmed me completely. My vision was black but I was still standing; it felt like I was frozen, still staring into Palkia's eyes that where becoming more solid by the second, accompanied by her face. Then I heard a voice, an unfamiliar and ancient voice. A voice that, though unfamiliar, I recognised immediately.

"_Samantha Rodgers."_ Palkia greeted. _"You are needed to save your world. I will lend you my power. With it you will have the strength to travel to your world and save It."_ her old voice told me, the words reverberating with power as they coursed through me and suddenly I was in control of my body again. I sucked in air quickly before looking at my hands. They were seemingly glowing purple, giving off the light from the inside; the colour of Palkia. My eyes narrowed as I looked to my left where Craig with a blue halo around him was inspecting his own hands. This was going to be fun.

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**Ok, I hope this isn't too clique but I thought it fit… hope you enjoy it! **

**Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

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"What the hell?" Craig murmured as he studied his hands before looking at me with an expression I couldn't place. I grinned at him before turning to look at Brock and Palkium who were standing side by side, Brock with a worried and shocked expression on his face and Palkium looking rather smug as his eyes roamed my body. I narrowed my eyes at him, causing his expression to become guilty. I sighed.

"Now what?" I asked him, walking towards them and feeling Craig's eyes on my back. Palkium's eyes became serious.

"Listen to mother; she will tell you what you need to do." He told me seriously. I nodded before closing my eyes to listen more effectively.

"_Relax. Just think about what it is you want to do and I will make it happen." _She assured me. I frowned. _What do I want to do?_ I asked her. I could feel the pokemon in my mind now and I was strangely comforting. _"Now that's for you to decide. Choose well little Samantha; your world depends on it." _she told me, leaving her answer obscure. It annoyed me and some part of me was sure she was doing it on purpose.

_Can't you give me some sort of clue?_ But she remained infuriatingly silent. I growled slightly. _Palkia!_ It was useless. I'm sure the growls weren't appreciated but I gave her another one anyway, to show my annoyance. Opening my eyes I looked over at Craig.

"Get a better answer from Dialga?" I asked him in a sarky voice.

"That would depend on your answer, wouldn't It." he commented back, an eyebrow raised. I sighed slightly before recalling what Palkia had told me. Craig blinked before smiling slightly. "No, my answer was about the same."

I sighed again.

"Maybe you should focus on getting yourself to your world and stopping that army." Brock said dryly, his eyes telling us not to be so dense and slow. I cringed before grinning at him.

"That might be a good idea." I told him before pushing myself lightly off the floor and floating slowly towards him, my feet staying off the floor. Placing my hands on his shoulders I looked into his eyes, smiling gently at him. "Don't worry. I'll save my world and be right back. Palkium will be staying with you, right?" I asked my eyes flitting over to the said pokemon before settling back on his face. His eyes were properly open again and dazzled me slightly, they really were beautiful.

"Of course." Palkium replied. I nodded before grinning at the small smile that came to his face. We stayed like that for a moment before my eyes closed and I kissed him gently on the lips. His hand came up to touch my cheek before I pulled back as Craig cleared his throat. Keeping my hands on Brock's shoulders I looked up to glare at where Craig was now floating. He was smirking.

"Get a room would ya." He jibed. I glared at him before pushing gently away from Brock's shoulders and storming towards the floating blue boy. He grinned as he dodged my swipe.

"We don't have time for this!" I snarled at him before turning back to look at Brock and Palkium, not failing to miss the pain on Brock's face. I smiled at him gently before waving as I felt a pull that told me I was about to travel. Apparently Palkia had decided enough was enough. It was strange, being pulled backwards through the deep purple light I had arrived through. This time wasn't anywhere near as painful as he last, in fact it wasn't painful at all and I guessed I had Palkia to thank for that. The only reason I could even get back was because of her and during the journey she told me I wouldn't be able to stay.

I fell out of the thick light at a great height over my hometown. Great, not only was I supposed to fight an army it was going to be in my home? What was Melissa thinking? I sighed before catching myself, stopping my fall a few meters over the marketplace. Looking around I could see the men. This was where they had gathered and they were surrounded by police. I watched in horror, not able to do anything as I watched the men take down the police with a range of electric type pokemon. Something told me they all had one pokemon from each type. The mayhem caused, I narrowed my eyes.

It wasn't long after that Craig got there and I could move again; Palkia had refused to let me move until he was here. Then we flew down to the men. I opened my mouth, letting out a roar that sounded strangely like Palkia's. it unnerved me slightly but failed to stop me and I plummeted into the pavement, sending out a spray of smoke and rubble into the men's faces. Getting up and pushing myself into the air and out of the new crater I threw a large ball of purple energy at the men. It was blocked by several psychic pokemon but sent them flying. Another ball formed in my hands and I sent it hurtling towards them.

The battle didn't last as long as I thought it would and suddenly I realised that there wasn't much of an army. Or maybe that was just because of the fact that we had two legendary's on our side. I suppose I wouldn't know but what I did know was that there was another reason I was allowed to come here.

"_Your parents are waiting Samantha."_ Palkia reminded me after the battle and I looked down to see them on the outskirts of the battle area, staring at in horror. I sighed slightly before looking over at Craig. He was watching the couple as well. I led us down, flying slowly over to where they were, hoping my presence wouldn't startle them too much.

"Mum? Dad?" I asked quietly from behind them, away from others eyes. They turned quickly, their eyes wide. Mum gasped slightly when she saw me, her hand coming to her face and tears beginning in her eyes.

"Sammy?" dad asked, his voice unbelieving and his eyes wide. I smiled at him nervously, my eyes and face guilty as Craig landed next to me causing their eyes to widen even further than I thought possible. "Craig?" his voice came again, higher in tempo and cracking half way through. I guessed Craig's expression probably mirrored mine. Tears were falling down my mum's cheeks and I could feel a lump in my throat as I walked towards her.

"Yes, it's us. We're here." I told her gently as I wrapped my arms around her. She seemed so frail, so vulnerable and I could feel the guilt racing through me as she grasped hold of me, squeezing me tight. As she wept into my t-shirt I could hear dad begin to gasp as he hugged Craig.

I wished I could tell them we would be staying forever, that we would never leave them again. But that wasn't possible. We were going to have to leave and I was going to have to tell them; Craig had never been able to hurt our parents with the truth.

"I love you mum." I told her comfortingly. "But we can't stay. I can't explain why and I know it's hard but you need to trust us. We aren't dead but there's no way for us to stay in this world. I'm sorry but we wanted you to know we were ok and to wish you well knowing that. Can you do that?" I asked her, holding her away from me so I could look into her eyes. She gazed at me painfully before nodding, her expression becoming strong. I smiled at her before turning to dad with a waiting expression.

He hesitated a moment before striding purposefully towards me and hugging me tight. "I will always believe in you. Go catch 'um all." He told me with a smile. I wrapped my arms around him as tears began to fall down my cheeks. I wasn't too surprised he knew where I had been and where Craig now was. He had always been quick and was also a pokemon manic, just like us.

"Thanks dad."

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**Well, I can tell you that I don't really like this chapter at all. I think its pants, honestly. The lack of battle, its way too quick I know but I couldn't think what to put, then the exchange between them and their parents was really bad… but I would like to see what you have to say… Maybe you like it…?**

**Please review!**


	21. Chapter 21

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When we arrived back to the pokemon world, Brock was no longer inside the warehouse. He and Palkium had joined the others in the courtyard opposite and, as Craig and I landed, the blue and pink lights retreated from us before floating back to their respective pokeballs.

Suddenly I was exhausted. Having trouble standing I was grateful to Brock as he rushed over to catch me before I landed on my face. I smiled up at him graciously before sighing as he lifted me into his arms. Craig was being held up by a struggling Palkium and I looked at them with a smile before I cuddled my face into Brock's chest. Falling asleep at that moment was the best thing I had done all day.

Later on, after I had woken up, I learned that Brock had been doing his own thing. Officer Jenny had been around and had shut down the warehouse, arresting the men that had been there before taking custody of all the information. Melissa will be a wanted criminal from now on. I still wasn't sure exactly who the man was that had been helping her but I didn't think it really mattered.

Sighing slightly I moved myself over to where Brock now was, sitting across from me on the bed opposite. We had got a large room in the pokemon centre that was big enough for all of us to sleep in; three bunk beds and a single. It was quite a comfy room, big enough to be convenient yet not too big that it felt empty. Brock looked at me as I sat down next to him and slipped my hand in his. Brock, Craig and I were the only ones in the room as the others had decided to go and watch a pokemon contest that Drew and May had entered while we were away. We, Craig and I, had been asleep at the time and I had been told, by Brock, that he had offered to stay with us. Craig was still asleep on the bed across the room.

"Are you ok?" Brock asked in concern, casing me to look up at his with a small smile.

"I will be." I replied simply and I was sure that my eyes were showing the sadness I felt inside. Though I felt a strange kind of relief at knowing my parents were well, and I knew I should feel glad that I had saved my world, I couldn't help the utter sadness I felt at leaving them again. I wondered if I was the same for him or if it were even harder. When I first said goodbye they didn't know what was going on but they did this time and it must be so strange for them. That and the fact that half the town had been destroyed by us.

I felt the edges of my lips curl up at this last thought and my smile widened as I felt Brock tenderly squeeze my hand. Looking up at him again I stared straight into his eyes, marvelling at the adorable chestnut colour that tinted the chocolate of them. Then I placed my hand on his cheek as he leaned down to kiss me, the cushioning soft sensation of his lips on mine causing my mouth to tingle. It didn't take long for the kiss to be deepened and we were in full swing when I heard an amused sounding cough from the other side of the room. I pulled away before blushing at the grinning Craig behind me. He was having a wale of a time, his still tiered eyes bright and his eyebrows waggling teasingly.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt?" he asked with a note of amusement etched deeply into his voice. I blushed deeper as I glared at him, feeling Brock's curious eyes on me as I thought of a suitable comeback.

"Yes, you did." I told him airily, mentally hitting myself for my utter hopelessness when it comes to comebacks. Craig's grin widened and Brock's hands crept around my shoulder before pulling me back round to face him. I blinked slightly before he pressed his lips back to mine and I melted into him, forgetting the fact that Craig was grinning behind me. Brock pulled away again as another cough filled the room.

I was as red as a tomato as I looked around Brock to see the others all stood in the doorway, watching us with grins on their faces. Craig was in hysterics behind me and I could hear the laughter of Palkium through the pokeball. With that thought I frowned.

"What are we going to do with the legendaries?" I asked the room at large, wiping the grins from peoples faces as I transformed the mood of the room in an instant.

"Letting us go would be nice." Palkium said from behind me, causing me to jump as I looked over at him. His face was serious, no longer laughing.

"But the pokeballs…" I murmured. The master balls were dangerous things and could well be used to capture the legendaries again. If Melissa got her hands on them it would be easy for her to just return Palkia, Palkium and Dialga. Palkium came over to me, a small smile on his face as he wrapped on of his paws around my hand.

"We have been thinking and we would like you and Craig to keep them." Palkium said, his voice sincere and soft. I looked into his eyes and smiled before getting up, grabbing Brock's hand and racing out of the door. Palkium followed happily and the others weren't far behind. I ran in to the woods, the three master balls still in the bag that hung at my waist. When we were in a suitable spot, far from anyone else, I pulled the two containing Palkia and Dialga out of the bag and enlarged them. I gave Dialga's to Craig and as the boy was out of breath I had to apologise for running so fast. He waved the apology away before straightening and taking the ball from my hands.

Nodding at each other we threw the balls into the air, releasing their occupants who roared in relief. The two large legendaries watched us for a moment before they nodded and flew away, opening a portal and flying through it back into their own world. I could feel myself smiling as Palkium hovered in front of me.

"Thank you, Sammy, Craig and everyone else too of course." He began. "I feel privileged to have met such friends as you and hope that we will meet again. Don't forget to take care of the pokeballs will you?" he asked, his voice turning slightly nervous.

"What little faith you have of us Palkium." Craig chided and the pokemon managed to look vaguely apologetic before he too flew up into the sky and through a portal to his own world.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, this is the last chapter of absolute lies. I can do a third one if you would like; I have an idea though it would be in Craig's point of view rather than Sammy's…please, tell me what you think by clicking the review button! Not the 'reveiw' button like boss slayer seems to keep wanting to… **

**Honestly though, please review! **


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